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B. 9uB0mm, MimMS*; K. G. MoCommt ., 1 GEOLOGICAL SUE^KY WockI Mountain- ■ WiUowbunch Goal Ac<»f^ Saskatchewan Bruo0 Rose •■■■»3 GmmoMiinrPafinQis Bsuuv fi^rm msPi^' •:?:i CANADA DEPARTMENT OF MINES Hon. p. B. Blondin, MiNinM; R. G. McConkill, DirvTv MiMimi. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY rr^^MLM No. 15, Gboloukal Sbbiu Wood Mountain- Willowbuoch Coal Area, Saskatchewan BV kuce Rom OTTAWA GOVBRNMBNT PRINTING BURBAU 1916 No. 1138 i CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. Introduction ''*°^ General statement Field work and acknowledgments Location and area Transportation and commercial possibilities History. General history. Previous work . i CHAPTER M. General character of the district. Togography Regional— the Great Plains Local topography Plateau topography . Abandoned river valleys. Uke and slough country of the Coteau du Missouri Coulee and badland topography Lakes Climate and agriculture Plains topography and Interior Basin drainage 17 18 21 22 23 24 CHAPTER III. Descriptive geology Stratigraphy Cretaceous system Pierre shale Fox Hills sandstone. . . Tertiary (?) system Lance formation Tertiary system Fort Union formation. Quaternary system Superficial deposits Structure Geological history 26 26 26 26 28 33 33 42 42 46 47 SO 51 CHAPTER IV. Paok Economic geology 56 Coal 56 Occurrence and distribution 56 Mining 59 Physical and chemical characters 59 Descriptions by locality 64 Clay 69 Occurrence and distribution 69 Physical tests of the clays 71 Summary of tests and general remarks on the days, by J. Keele 82 Gravel and sand 83 Soil 84 Surface and underground water 85 Index 99 List of Publications ILLUSTRATIONS. Map 181 A, No. 1628. Wood Mountain-Willowbunch coal area, Sas- katchewan in {jocket Plate I. Typical exposure of rocks of the Fort Union formation. Big Muddy valley Frontispiece II. A. Plateau topography — ^Wood Mountain plateau 87 B. Butte, Fort Union formation. Big Muddy valley 87 III. Natural bridge in Fort Union clay 89 IV. Elongated sandstone concretion left on surface by the weathering away of the surrounding sand, Fort Union formation 91 V. Hoodoo of concretionary sandstone. Fort Union formation 93 VI. Mine at Waniska, Sask., illustrating the open-pit method of mining 95 VII. Mine at Gladmar, Sask., illustrating the tunnelling method of mining 97 Figure 1. Location of Wood Mountain-Willowbunch coal area 2 Wood Mountaln-Willowbunch Coal Area, Saskatchewan. CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION. GENERAL STATEMENT. Recent development in southern Saskatchewan caused by the building of railways and the consequent influx of settlers, has made necessary an investigation of the coal measures and associated formations of that region. The investigation was earned out by the writer over an area about Willowbunch and Wood mountain (Figure 1) and shows that the area is abundantly supplied with lignite coal of good quality, and with clays suit- able for the manufacture of a wide range of ceramic products, mcluding common building brick, sewer-pipe, pottery, and fir&i bnck. The results of the investigation are set forth in this report. FIELD WORK AND ACKNOWLEDGM' Mim Branch, Dept. of Minei. Sum. Rept, 1912, p. 37. Mine* Branch, Report No. 83, "Inveatigation of the coals of Canada " vol II nait VIII. table XXXVUl, p. ill. ■ . tmn. was passed by. However, it was known to be a great buffalo country, and was a disputed hunting? ground for the Cree In- dians of the Saskatchewan and the Siuuan tribes of the Dakotaa and the Missouri. Each made yearly trips to the area on buffalo hunts and wht.j they met, there were usually feuds and blood- shed. The Indians were incited to further efforts jy the desire of the fur traders of the north and south (represented by the Hudson's Bay Company and the American traders of the Mis- souri, respectively), to obtain the buffalo skins from this area. During this time half-breed settlements sprang up, whose members led much the same roving and hunting life as the In- dians. In 1862, the wars between the Crees and Sioux ceased and a treaty of peace was made largely through the influence of the half-breed, Gabriel Dumont. After this the Crees and the Sioux mixed considerably and hunted together, making common cause agamst the Blackfoot Indians who threatened their hunting grounds in the Cypress Hills district farther west. It was the custom of the fur companies to s^nd traders to the winter quarters of the Indians, and in 1868, Mr. Isaac Cowie (chief factor of the Hudson's Bay Company, now retired and hvmg in Winnipeg), was sent by the Hudson's Bay Company from Fort Qu'Appelle to Wood mountain to trade with the Indians there. A description of this trip and the conditions at that Ume may be found in his book "The Company of Adven- turers." The Indians were still, however, averse to white men coming among them except as fur traders, and, in the spring of 1873. Robert Bell of the Geological Survey was prevented from taking his survey party to Wood mountain. He made the trip alone, however, a few months later. About this time individual traders began to come in. In 1870, George Fisher had a store 12 miles west of the present site of Willowbunch. In 1871, Mr. J. L. Ugar6, at present post- master at Willowbunch, built a store at Wood mountain. This he moved to a location 3 miles east of Wood mountain in 1873 Then, in 1876, the Indian chief Sitting Bull and his band of Teton Sioux to the number of 4,000, fled to Canada after the Custer massacre and located in this area. In the negotiations which followed for the return of these Indians to their own country, Mr. Ltgari took a prominent part. Many of the Indians returned within the next few years, but a considerable portion, including the chiefs and their families, remained. In 1878, Leighton and Jordan, traders from the United States, built a stockaded trading post at Wood mountain in order to get the Indian trade. Soon buffalo became scarce and the fur traders interest in the district declined. In 1880, Mr. Ltgari moved his store to Willowbunch where he has since re- mained. His store was the first building in the present small town of Willowbunch, which has gradually become the trading centre for a considerable tract of country. Subsequently Mr. L^gard bought out Leighton and Jordan's stock at Wood moun- tain and moved it to Willowbunch. In 1881, there were still about 500 Sioux Indians in Canada. On account of the scarcity of buffalo, conditions became so hard for th^ri that they were in danger of starving and were in the habit ci withering about Mr. Ligar^'s store at Willowbunch daily to be fed. Finally, Sitting Bull was induced to return with his followers to the United States, and Mr. L£gar6 personally supervised the transportation of most of the Indians to the Missouri river. A few of the Sioux still remained in Canada under the leader- ship of Whitecap, and were later placed on a small reserve near Wood mountain. This band, according to the latest report of the Department of Indian Affairs, now numbers about 70 per- sons.' When the North West Territories were transferred to Can- ada in 1869, there were no permanent settlements in the Wood Mountain-Willowbunch area. Dr. G. M. Dawson, geologist on the British North American Boundary Commission of 1873-74, describes the Wood Mountain settlement of that time as "merely a base for a certain number of hunters and traders, who have found it convenient to erect wintering shanties there."' When the Royal North West Mounted Police began to •^^trol the west in 1874, this area along the International Boun- ■ Dom. at Canada, Dept. of Indian Aff: >, Ann. Rept. for the year ending March 11, 1914, part II, p. «6. ' Dawnn, G. M., "Geolocy and reeourcei et the 49th paraUel," Montreal, 1875, p. 249. dary received their special care. Their attention was at (uit largely occupied in negotiations with the Indians, the settle- ment of their disputes and the placing of them on reserves. Later, they were kept busy with disputer between American and Canadian cattlemen over boundary grazing infringements and with cattle and horse thieves— troubles which continue to a less degree up to the present. As late as 1882, the Indians were found showing open hos- tility when a party of thirty-two Crees took possession of Mr. Ugart's encampment at Willowbunch and he was forced to purchase his life and the lives of his men at the cost of his out- fit. The miscreanU were, however, arrested by the police. With the building of the Canadian Pacific railway (1880- 85) and the opening up of trading centres, surveyors and settlers began to spread over the country. The discontent which arose among the half-breeds was rife ab /ut Wood mountain and Willowbunch, and they were prevented from taking part in the rebellion of 1885 largely by the efforts of Mr. L4gar6. He or- ganized a corps of scouts to repel attacks of American sympathiz- ers with the rebellion, and so selected his men that they repre- sented practically all the ha'f-breed families in that vicinity. They were distributed over the district at such a distance apart as to render them harmless if they became disaffected. The pay received went a long way to relieve the smouldering discon- tent and so a group of budding rebels was turned into sup- porter!) of the government.' In the period of immigration, railway-building, and general development that followed the rebellion of 1885, the district lagged behind. It was too far from a railway to make grain- growing profitable, although for years farmers were accustomed to draw grain in winter to Moosejaw, a distance of from 50 to 100 miles. Ranching was for many years the principal occupa- tion. The building of the Weybum-Lethbridge branch of the Canadian Pacific railway and the Radville-Bengough branch of the Canadian Northern railway within the last five years, has brought to this section a great rush of homesteaders, and practi- cally all the beet agricultural land is now occupied. ■ BlMk'i HlMory d SMkatdiAwu, p. 3«9. The commercial poMtbilitin of the district, in connexion with its agricultural development, the working of the coal, and the ettablithment of clay plants, arc very bright, and it may be expected to make a rapid advance in material prosperity in the future. Previous Work. In 1857-8-9, James Hector, geologist on the Palliser ex- pedition sent out by the British government for the exploration of British North America, travelled over a great deal of the Great Plains in Canada. Although he did not touch the Willow- bunch-Wood Mountain area, his work in similar country to the east and north has a very direct bearing on this district. His reports are published in the journals and papers relative to Captain Palliser's exploration in British North America and are contained in the British Parliamentary papers for 1859-60, 1863, and 1865. In 1857-8, H. Y. Hind led geological parties for the Cana- dian government on work very similar to that done by Hector. Like Hector's, his explorations did not reach this area. He travelled, via the Souris, Assiniboine, and Qu'Appelle rivers, as far as the elbow of the South Saskatchewan river. His reports are of particular value for their summation of the knowledge of the Cretaceous and Tertiary at that time. They are contained in the Legislative Assembly publications, Toronto, for the years 185S-9, and are also published separately in two volumes, "Narrative of the Canadian Red River exploring expedition of 1857" and "Assiniboine and Saskatchewan exploring expedition of 1858." In 1873-4, G. M. Dawson was attached to the British North American Boundary Commission, as naturalist. He travelled directly across the area and his "Report on the geology and resources of the forty-ninth parallel from the Lake of the Woods to the Rocky mountains," is an exhaustive treatise on the physical geography and geology. This report formed the basis for future work on the geology and physiography of the Great Plains in Canada. It is interesting to find, from an his- torical as well as from a practical standpoint, that he concluded. After a thorough examination of the evidence for and against, that the lignite-bearing bed» overlying the Foxhiilt-Cretaceoua ■andctone are of Tertiary age. Soon after the North Went Territories were transferred to Canada, the Geological Survey started exploratory work on the prairies and has continued it intermittently up to the present. The reports of thcw explorations may be found in the publica- tions of the Survey for the various years in which they took place. In 1873, A. R. C. Selwyn crossed the prairies from Fort Garry (Winnipeg) to Rocky Mounuir House. In the same year, Robert Bell travelled along the valley of the Qu'Appelle river westward to the elbow of the South Saekatchewan and back by way of the Dirt hills. He also made a hurried trip to Wood mountain on horseback, being prevented by Indians from taking his survey party. In 1875, R. W. Ells was in charge of boring operations in the west and travelled as far as Rocky Mountain House. In 1880, A. R. C. Selwyn was in charge of boring opera- tions in the Souris valley. In 1883-4, R. G. McConnell examined the Cypress hills, Wood mountain, and adjacent country His report, part C of the Annual Report, 1885, is the latest which deals directly with the area under discussion in this memoir. In 1902, D. B. Dowling examined and reported on the coal fields of Souris river, part F, Annual Report 1902-3. In 1905-6, R. Chalmers began an investigation of the surface geology of the prairie provinces and published summary reports of his work. Since 1910, H. Ries and J. Keele have been investigating the clays of the prairies and have published five memoirs on "The clays and shale deposits of the western provinces," Memoirs 24, 25, 47, 65, and 66. Besides the work which has a direct bearing on the area under discus.sion, the Geological Survey has published important reports on neighbouring areas, including those of G. M. Uawson on the foothills country, those of J. B. Tyrrell, and D. B. Dowling on areas to the north and east, and reports by L. M. Lambe on the vertebrate fossils of the Cypress hills and Red Deer river. D. B. Dowling's report on "The coal fields of Manitoba, Sas- katchewan, Alberta, and eastern British Columbia," Memoir 53, is the latest general report on the geology of the prairie 10 provincM. It fai to the work of G. M. Damon, R. G. McCon- nell, D. B. Dowliag. and J. B. Tyrrell chiefly that we owe our preterit knowledge of the structure and areal diatributkm of the fomwtkmt of the prairie provinces. During this*tinM of geok>gical expk>ration and survey in Canada, a great deal of work was dotte in neighbouring areas of the United Sutes to the south, which has a direct bearing on the geokigy of the Wood Mountain-Wilbwbunch area, particu* lariy in .egard to the location of the Cretaceous-Eocene boundary. The quantity of work done and the volume of literature pub- lished are too Urge for anything but the briefest review. The work is chiefly that of government surveys and the records are *o be found in government publications, in scientific journals and periodicals, and in the reports of various scientific societies and institutes. Of first importance is the work of the Hayden, King, and Wheeler surveys between the years 1867 and 1879. It b to the work of the geologists on these surveys that is due the first delineation of the Cretaceous and Tertiary rocks of the central part of the continent: also it is due to the differences of opinion of these geologists that the Cretaceous-Eocene boundary con- troversy first arose. A complete catalogue and index of the publications of these surveys is given in Bulletin No. 222 of the United States Geological Survey. Since its organization in 1879, the United States Geological Survey has carried on this work and the reader is referred to the Survey's List of Publica- tions for a concise catalogue and index. Beginning with the year 1900 the North Dakota Geological Survey has issued a scries of biennial reports dealing largely with the clays and lig- nites of the state. These are of special interest on account of the nearness and similarity of the formations to those of the Wood Mountain-Willowbunch area No attempt is made to list reports published in journals and periodicals or in the transactions of societies and institutes; for these the reader is referred to the bibliography of North American geology in bulletins of the United States Geological Survey. tl CHAPTER II. GBNKRAI. CHARACTER OF THE DISTRICT. TOPOGRAPHY. RBGIONAL— TBB CHEAT PLAINS. The Wood MounUin-Willowbunch area lies in the Great Plains province which, in Canada, slopes eastward from the foothills of the Rocky mountains to the Uurentian plateau. The following brief description of these plains applies particulariy to the southern treeless areas of Alberta. Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. The topography of the Great Plains is essentially that of a base-levelled surface. It is a plain developed on nearly flat- lying, soft strata— clays, shales, and friable sdndstoncs— and over great areas the slope of the plain corrisponds to the dip of the undeHying strata; but, considered a.s a whole, the surface is seen to bevel the strata at small angles. It owes it.s flatncs.s partly to the horizontality of the strata, but primarily to base- levelling by normal erosion. The origin of the plains is. then, in part structural and in part erosional. They weie formed in pre-Glaciai times and the surface has been motlified I , glacial scour and deposition. It is. in general, a rcKion oi rolling prairie, interrupted by ridges and valleys. The evenness of the surface is in places made laore complete by the filling of the hollows with superficial deposits and in places broken by the piling up of superficial deposits in ridges. The superficial deposits are almost w::.)lly of glacial origin and were deposited during the retreat of the continental glaciers. The fillings are outwash and lake deposits as is shown by their sorted and stratified condition, and the ridges arc morainal deposits A veneer of boulder clay mantles the surface almost everywhere. The underlying rock formations of the Great Plains are for the most part of Cretaceous age. but here and there plateaus 12 of Tertiary rock stand above the general level. These are remnants of much more widely distributed Tertiary deposits, the greater part of which has been denuded away during the base-levelling process. The rise from the plains to the plateaus is usually abrupt. The boundaries of the plateaus are commonly marked by clay bluffs, particularly on the south and west sides. The north and east slopes are, as a rule, covered with a mantle of boulder clay. The plateau surfaces are, like the plains surfaces, rolling prairies and the question arises as to whether they owe their flatness to the original, horizontal position of the strata, or represent the remnants of a previous, base-levelled surface like that of the Great Plains. This question will be referred to in a separate treatment of the plateau topography. The valleys cut below the level of the plains detract very little from the apparent evenness of the general plains surface. They are noticeable only when the observer is in their immediate vicinity and are lost to view from the broad interstream areas. The valleys are of two types. Streams such as the Saskatchewan with headwaters in the Rocky mountains and with a perennial flow have cut canyon-like valleys in the soft strata, while streams with headwaters on the plains and an intermittent flow usually have shallow valleys. Streams of the latter type have their sources in an intricate system of ramifying and inosculating coulees especially when they head in the rocks of the Tertiary plateaus, mentioned above. A second and earlier system of stream courses, in part coinciding with the present system, is marked by valleys which are now abandoned or in which the present streams are so small as to be wholly inadequate to account for their excavation. These valleys were excavated at a time when the climate was much more humid and the precipitation consequently much greater than at present, probably during the retreat of the con- tinental glaciers. The abandoned valleys are commonly occu- pied at intervals along their courses by shallow saline lakes, or for short distances by intermittent streams. Over considerable areas, the evaporation is equal to the precipitation and there is an almost absolute lack of running 13 water. In some areas the surface water is concentrated in lakes with no outlets, giving, locally, an interior basin drainage. The southern part of the Great Plains in Canada is divided into three steppes by two eastward facing escarpments. The hrst steppe or lowest prairie level is that of the Red River valley the Winnipeg system of lakes and the flat land surrounding them This plam .s developed on Palaeozoic rocks, and in that respect differs from the more typical Great Plains to the west, which are developed on the soft Cretaceous rocks. It was occupied on the retreat of the continental glacier by a great lake-glacial Lake Agass.z-and the surface is deeply mantled with boulder clay and with alluvium deposited in the lake. It has an average elevation of about 800 feet above the sea and drains to Hudson bay by way of the Nelson river. The passage from the first to the second steppe is over a rise or eastward facing escarpment of Cretaceous rocks, known as the Manitoba escarpment. The drainage channels from the second to the first steppe are wide and divide the escarpment into several prominent groups of hills known as the Pembina. Riding. Duck. Porcupine, and Pasquia hills. The summits of these hil s ri^ from 500 to 1.000 feet, in places more, above the level of the first steppe. West of the Manitoba escarpment the Cretaceous plains s retch away to the foothills of the Rocky mountains. The elevation above the sea increases gradually from less than 1,500 feet to more than 4,000 feet. This is the area occupied by the second and third steppes. The second steppe lies between the Manitoba escarpment and the Missouri coteau. ?.n eastward facing escarpment of Tertiary rocks. This escarpment is the eastern boundary of the Wood Mountain plateau, one of the lertiary remnants mentioned above. The eastern boundary and a northwesteriy trending arm from it form a steplike rise of from 200 to 500 feet; but since there is an equal drop on the western side of the Tertiary remnant the Missouri coteau does not mark a rise from one prairie level to another as the Manitoba escarpment does. It forms, however, a convenient dividing line on the plains. East of it. the boulder clay deposit is thicker than to the west and the front of the escarpment is almost every- 14 where deeply covered with the boulder clay. It seems probable that the coteau acted as a barrier to ice advancement at certain stages of the glacial period and that the greater thickness of glacial accumulations along the front of it and to the east are to be accounted for in this way. The third steppe reaches from the Missouri coteau to the foothills. It is in general like the second steppe but the super- ficial deposits covering it are thinner; and, while there is only one Tertiary plateau on the second steppe (Turtle mountain, along the boundary between Manitoba and North Dakota), there are a number of such residuals on the third steppe. Chief among these is the Wood Mountain plateau, which is more fully discussed under local topogra >hy, and the Cypress Hills plateau. This threefold division of the Great Plains is chiefly useful for descriptive purposes. The actual decrease of elevation in passing from one steppe to the next lower is small in comparison to the decrease due to the general eastward slope of the plains. Despite minor irregularities — plateaus, valleys, and escarpments — they preserve their character as plains throughout and stand as one of the best examples known of an uplifted and base-levelled surface. The region is often described as a "rolling prairie," a general term that is aptly applied to the whole extent of the plains. LOCAL TOPOGRAPHY. The location of the map-area on the Great Plains is near the eastern border of the third steppe, just west of the Coteau du Missouri. The watershed between the Missouri river and streams flowing north cuts across it in an east-west direction. This divide is part of the Missouri-Saskatchewan watershed, but in this particular area none of the streams flowing north reach the Saskatchewan. They are caught in an interior basin in which lie Lakes Johnston and Chaplin. In the Wood Mountain division a remnant of rtiary rocks, known as the Wood Mountain plateau, forms the water- shed. This plateau in the western part of the sheet is very narrow. It is merely a ridge which for a distance of 40 miles 15 is in few places more than 5 miles wide and in several places has been nearly cut through by the headward working of the streams. To the west of the area the plateau has been com- pletely cut away but reappears in the Tertiary plateau of the Cypress h.lls. To the north and south of this plateau plains stretch away to the areas beyond the map-area. The plateau broadens towards the east and occupies the full width of the Wood Mountain area. Its northern boundary extends to the north- east to jom the ridge of the Coteau du Missouri near Lake Johnston, and its southern boundary crosses into Montana. It extends eastward to the Coteau du Missouri so that its eastern border corresponds with the eastern border of the third steppe, rhus. the W.llowbunch map-area lies on the eastward extension of this plateau, although Wood Mountain plateau, as defined by McConneil. hes wholly to the west of the 3rd principal meridian.' The break from the plateau xo the surrounding plains is ^rf.^^ ^" escarpment from 200 to 300 feet in height. In the Wood Mountain division, where the plateau is narrow, this break .s a very striking feature, but in the Willowbunch division the plateau character predominates. In detail, several special phases of topography are exhibited and will be discussed under separate headings. Plateau Topography. The plateau topography is essentially the .vn e as the plains topography. The Wood Mountain plateau is a plain developed on flat-lying strata of Tertiary age. It rises gradually frr.m 2,000 feet above sea-level, along the Coteau du Missouri in the northeast corner of the area, to more than 3.300 feet alone the narrow watershed in the x^estern part of the Wood Mountain division. Its surface, particularly in the southern and western parts, IS very irregular. It is cut by an intricate system of coulees tributary to the Missouri river (Plate IIA). The coulees have a general north-south trend and so make road and railway building in an east-west direction very difficult. The main G«.: s";,^s^^:R^'r'r,,'S!^ r • ^"^ """*"'^- "■"■ -^''^^ ~'»--" !f!f— ^^ 16 coulees are wide and deep, but since they are now grass-covered and carry very little water, they must have been excavated at a time of much more humid climate than the present. The plateau surface where it is not cut by coulees is rolling prairie. The mode of origin of Wood Mountain plateau is in doubt and cannot be determined from the data collected in the area itself. It must be considered in connexion with the physiog- raphy of the Great Plains in general, and more particularly in connexion with that of the Cypress Hills area to the west. Two hypotheses present themselves: Wood Mountain plateau is either a remnant of Tertiary rocks, which, on account of its location on a watershed, has escaped denudation and so owes its flatness to the original horizontality of the strata, or it is part of an old base-levelled surface the greater part of which has been destroyed during the period of denudation to which the surround- ing Great Plains are due. The latter hypothesis is here accepted for the following reasons: (1). Although the rocks are so nearly flat-lying and the plateau so nearly level, yet in passing from east to west succes- sively higher series of strata are met. Hence the plateau sur- face truncates the strata at a small angle and so is a true erosion surface. (2). The same condition exists in the Cypress hills, a Tertiary remnant farther west on the Great Plains; but, while the top formation in the Wood Mountain plateau is of Eocene age, the top strata of the Cypress hills are of Oligocene age. This difference, however, helps to confirm the belief that a gen- eral base-level of erosion was developed over a large area, and is then not confined to the Wood Mountain plateau. (3). Oligocene sediments overlie the Fort Union-Eocene formation on the top of the Cypress hills, also to the east, in western North Dakota,' in an area which is directly connected with the Wood Mountain-Willowbunch area. It is probable then that Oligocene sediments were present in the area under consideration but have been denuded by the base-levelling pro- cess. 1 Leonanl. A. G., "Tlw gcoloilcal nttp of North DttoU." Quart Jonr.. Uiil». «t North Dakou, Td. IV, No. 1, Oct.. 1913, p. II. 17 /i^u^! '"*''**" ^^^^ ^™'" ^^ P'ains to the plateau U!?!? ^ ?'' ^^P"^"* «t the edge of the plateau, proved that the plateau must have developed during an earlier cycle of erosion. At the present time, erosion is gradually destroving the plateau: the escarpment bounding the plateau is being pushed back and eventually the Tertiary rocks will all be remov^ leaving an unbroken Cretaceous plain. Plains Topography and Interior Basin Drainage. To the north and south of Wood Mountain plateau, where erosion has exposed the Pierre-Cretaceous shales, flat plains with meandering water channels have developed. The^ are the typica prairie plains which have already been described in the general account of the Great Plains. A very marked change is noted in the character of the streams as they emerge from the plateau to the plains. In the plateau they are confined in deep coul^. but on the plains their channels are so shallow as *o be almost negligible. This is most noticeable north of the Wood Mountain plateau The plains area to the south of the plateau is cut in two by a through-flowing stream. Frenchman river. This stream heads in the Cypress hills to the west and has cut a canyon-like valley across this part of the plain. Its tributaries join it at grade i that they also have cut deep valleys near the main stream and so differ fronri the majority of the small plains streams. The !7 the Frenchman river is a plain from 1 to 2 miles wide cu from 200 to 300 feet below the general plains level. The valley bottom is a silt plain through v .ch the stream meanders ma very crooked course. This la^ Hey is thought to have been excavated at a time of greate. idity than the prese.rt and Its broad flat bottom is due to ti. silting up of the stream following the change to the drier climate. North of the plateau the streams all concentrate to form Wood river This stream meanders across the plains in a very mto the basmof Lakes Johnston and Chaplin, two large saline lakes connected by a channel. The water entering these lakes either evaporates or soaks into the underiying strata. w 18 There is here then interior basin drainage. Such local interior basins are characteristic of the Great Plains in southern Saskatchewan and Alberta, but they are so interspersed with through-flowing streams that they do not form striking topo- graphic features. They owe their existence to the disorganiza- tion of the drainage following a change from wet to dry climate, as mentioned in the preceding paragraph. Old drainage chan- nels became silted up and the present run-off is so small that it evaporates as fast as it accumulates. Abandoned River Valleys. The presence of coulees too large to have been excavated by the present streams, the silting up of rivers like Frenchman river, and the existence of local •nterior basin drainage have been mentioned and explained as due to a change of climate from wet to dry. It is thought that the climate was at one time much more humid than at present, the run-off was large, and a well organized system of drainage, not corresponding to the present system, existed. Another and most striking proof of this is the presence of abandoned river valleys. There are in the area large couldes or valleys which at first sight seem to mark the courses of large rivers, but which contain no through-flowing streams. Those old channels can be traced for many miles and a former drainage system worked out. The bottoms of the valleys have become silted up and are now occupied by scattered saline lakes, by streams of greatly dimin- ished size, or for short distances by local streams from nearby springs. The water of these streams and springs sinks into the silt or empties into the saline lakes and evaporates. A good example of one of these old valleys is Big Muddy valley. It is tributary to the Missouri river and in its lower course carries a small stream. Big Muddy creek. The head of this creek barely reaches the International Boundary, but the large valley can be traced for 100 miles farther. It is cut to an average depth of 250 feet below the prairie level and has a width varying from 1 to U miles. A line of terraces about 200 feet above the valley bottom marks a break between a mature upper valley and a main younger valley and indicates that there were 19 at least two stages in its development. The valley crosses into Canada in tp. 1. range 22. W. 2nd mer. Spring* in that vicinity form the headwaters of Big Muddy creek. Aiter cross- ing a slight divide, the first of a scries of saline lakes. Big Muddy lake IS met. This lake occupies the old valley bottom for a distance of 19 miles and for 15 miles is less than 1 mile wide In tp. 4, range 25. W. 2nd mer.. Big Muddy valley divides into two branches of about equal size. The north branch is occupied along Its course by WiUowbunch lake, 21 miles long, and by Uke of the Rivers. 25 miles long. It heads in the flat country about Lakes Johnston and Chaplin, and doubtless at one time drained that area. The south branch passes close to the town of Willowbunch. along a number of small saline lakes, and finally through Twelvemile lake, a lake over 15 miles long, but in few places more than one mile wide. It heads in the country immediately north of Wood Mountain plateau which is now occupied by the headwaters of Wood river. The period during which this large valley, the large valley of Frenchman river, and the large coulees of the area were excavated, is here assigned to late Tertiary and Glacial times or more partlculariy, to the time of retreat of the continental glacier. The water supply was much more plentiful during this period and the ice blocked the drainage to the north and east so that the drainage to the south and west was large The Missouri river without doubt received the drainage from this area. Since the retreat of the ice the Missouri has silted up its flood-plains to a depth of more than 80 feet.' During the glacial retreat the ice front seems to have remained stationary at the Missouri coteau for a great length of time, for the coteau is deeply covered with morainal gravels and boulder clay A melting ice-sheet so close would supply the great amount of water required to excavate the deep valleys in the Wood Mount- ain-WiUowbunch area. These abandoned or almost dry valleys are very common over the Great Plains. A very noticeable thing on looking at a map of southern Saskatchewan and Alberta, is the number of 20 long, narrow lakes. These lakes lie along the old river valleys. One of the best examples of an abandoned valley is the old river course connecting the headwaters of the Qu'Appelle river with the South Saskatchewan river at Elbow. At one stage the waters of the South Saskatchewan flowed along this course and out by way of the Qu'Appelle valley. The small stream and the number of long narrow lakes in the upper course of the Qu'- Appelle are features that are characteristic of these abandoned valleys. Last Mountain lake on one of the tributaries of the Qu'Appelle is 55 miles long. Examples of abandoned valleys could be multiplied almost indefinitely, proving that the con- ditions that caused their formation were not confined to Wood- Mountain-Willowbunch area but were general over the Great Plains. The readjustment of the drainage systems was accompanied by and probably partly caused by elevations and depressions of certain parts of the Great Plains relative to one another. The basin of Lakes Johnston and Chaplin, which at one time drained through Big Muddy valley, stands to-day at a lower elevation than parts of the abandoned valley. Again, this valley after leaving the basin of Lakes Johnston and Chaplin cuts across Wood Mountain plateau, where it stands 200 to 300 feet higher than the basin, so that the plateau must have been elevated or the basin depressed to that extent since the stream flowed through Big Muddy valley. Such adjustments can only be measured relatively. It cannot be told whether the change was brought about by an elevation in one area or by a depression in the neighbouring area. They were in no sense diastrophic movements. No faulting or folding of the strata can be noted. They were simply broad flexures extending over large areas and in most cases the movement was so slow that the streams were able to adjust themselves to the changing conditions, so that the abandoned valleys are not pointed to as proofs of changes in elevation. They stand rather as a proof of change of climate, from the humidity which characterized the glacial period to the semi-arid conditions which prevail over the southern part of the Great Plains in Canada at present. 31 Lake and Shmgh Country of the Coteau du Missouri. Cutting acroH the northeast corner of the area is the band oJ hilly country known as the Coteau du Missouri. The coteau forms the eastern boundary of the third steppe and also the eastern edge of the Wood Mountain plateau. The escarpment forming this boundary lies just outside the area mapped This escarpment formed a barrier to the ice at certain stages in the Glacial period and considerable morainic gravel and boulder clay were stranded along it. In the Willowbunch area this accumulation of material is distributed over a belt about 20 miles in width running in the general northwest-southeast direction of the coteau. The gravel and boulder clay are very irregulariy dutnbuted in ridges and hills, and the intervening hollows are commonly occupied by small lakes and sloughs. These basins have no outlets and there is an absolute lack of any connected drainage. The lakes and sloughs are, like the hills, irregular in shape. They conform in outline to the surrounding hills and many of them are long and narrow, filling the hollows between morainic ridges. Beyond this hilly country to the west, there is a consider- able area covered with outwash and lake deposits formeughs which are simply marshy lakes depending on the drainage from their immediate vicinity for a water-supply; and in a dry season they may contain no water. One of the larger lakes classed with this group, is Fife lake. It receives the drainage from Hay Meadow creek. The lakes of the third class, those partaking of the nature of springs, cannot be separated from those of the second class. Both classes depend on the water-supply from their immediate vicinities, and it is impossible to tell whether this supply is from springs or from neighbouring drainage. CLIMATE AND AGRICULTURE. The climate is very similar to that of the open treeless prairie in general. It may be described as a typical steppe cli- mate. It is characterized by hot summers, cold vinters, high winds, and a meagre precipitation. The precipitation is about 14 inches per year, of which about 8 inches fall during the months of May, June, and July, when it is most beneficial to the growing crops. Winds and the scarcity of moisture prevent the growth of trees except along stream courses, in the protected hollows of the larger coul^, and along the border of the plateau. The vegetation consists mostly of grasses which grow abundantly during a wet spring season and cure to a natural hay during the late summer, thus making the district a good grazing country. The winters are cold and the summers hot. The range of temperature is large, from 40 degrees below zero F. in winter to 90 degrees F. in summer, with an approximate average of 10 degrees for the months from November to March and of 52 d^;rees for the months from April to October. n •toce th. coining of the railway into the northern part of the a-ea ^J^ f'T.^.? "'•'* •"" ^^ ■" '"™»h of tettler. k> ^^u!!!!!^"r ■" *'•* •*•» -Kricultural land i. occupied. The broken couWe areaa which are too rough for grain grow- 26 CHAPTER III. DESCRIPTIVE GEOLOGY. STRATIGRAPHY. The rocks of the Wood Mountain-Willowbunch area consist of sedimentary deposits of Cretaceous and Tertiary age, and superficial deposits of Quaternary age. The Cretaceous and Tertiary rocks are a conformable series of flat-lying shales, clay- shal es, clays, sands, sandstones, and lignites. The lignites are confined to the Tertiary members of the series. The superficial deposits are the Pleistocene glacial accumulations and Recent alluvium which mantle the surface. Table of Formations. Quaternary Pleistocene and Recent. .Superficial deposits. Tertiary Eocene Fort Union formation. Tertiary ( ?) Eocene ( ?) Lance formation. Cretaceous Upper Cretaceous Fox Hills sandstone. Pierre shale. The Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary is tentatively placed at the top of the Fox Hills sandstone, following the usage of the United States Geological Survey for the areas to the south. The old name "Laramie" which, according to the practice of the Canadian Geological Survey, has been used to include all the stratigraphically conformable formations from the top of the Pierre-Fox Hills to the unconformity below the Oligocene, is replaced by the names, "Lance formation" and "Fort Union formation" for this area. CRETACEOUS SYSTEM. Pierre Shale. The Pierre is the dominant formation of the Great Plains in southern Canada from the Manitoba escarpment westward, but in the Wood Mountain-Willowbunch area the Tertiary rocks 27 of Wood Mountain plateau occupy the greater part of the space The Pierre is confined to the typical Great Plains area north and south of the plat.- a. The rocks of the Pierre formation, how- ever, underlK the whole di^tnct and are part of the general ex- panse of the 'ierre of the Gre;, Plains. The fon ail >ii consists , f a monotonous succession of fine- grained, dark <-,.y and gref.iish grey fissile and jointed shales. The strata are approxmiaL^ly flat-lying and so nearly alike in texture and colour that they can in many places be distinguished from one another only by slight lines of darker muds which mark perhaps a time of slow deposition. Exposure to the air causes the shales to become very friable and they weather to crumbling banks of earthy appearance. It is thus very easy to distinguish the Pierre formation from the overlying ones which have a tendency to stand in bluffs or form badlands. The fine-grained texture and the dark grey to greenish prey colour of the shales along with the marine fossil fauna which they contain, indicate that they were uniformly deposited as muds under pelagic conditions. There are, however, towards the top of the formation, beds containing calcareous concretions and beds showing yellowish iron stains, while gypsum crystals occur between certain strata. One bed at its outcrop along Frenchman river was covered with white crystals of salts which were deposited as the water oozing out of this bed evaporated These conditions seem to indicate that towards the end of the period of the Pierre sea there were fluctuations in the depth of the sea with a tendency to shallowing. This shallowing was simply a forerunner of the shallow water conditions which ob- tained during the deposition of the succeeding Fox Hills sand- stone. The best exposures of the Pierre shales are found in the area south of the Wood Mountain plateau, along Frenchman river and in the couldes running from the plateau to the river To the north of the plateau, along Wood river and its tributaries, there are few exposures; the streams run in very shallow valleys and the banks are, in most places, grass covered. Exposures are found only where freshets have undermined the banks at sharp bends in the meandering streams and, as the shales soon crumble 28 and slump the cutting has to be very recent to give a good ex- posure. The thickness of Pierre shale in this area is approximately 500 feet. No sections of this extent are exposed. This figure is obtained by taking the difference in elevation between the valley of Frenchman river and the surrounding plains. The exposed sections along the Frenchman river are from 200 to 300 feet in thickness. There are no drillings in the district to show to what depth the shale extends but its thickness is prob- ably considerably over 1,000 feet. Its estimated thickness in the Belle Fourche quadrangle, South Dakota,* is 1,400 feet. The Pierre shales from this area are not well adapted for the manufacture of clay products. They require a large amount of water for tempering, generally 30 to 35 per cent. Their working qualities are not good as they are exceedingly stiff and sticky in the wet state. They dry slowly with cracking, warping, and excessive shrinkage. There i.' a further shrinkage in burning and the colours of the burned body are various shades of light red which are not very pleasing to the eye. Fox Hills Sandstone. The Pierre shale is succeeded in ascending order by a sand- stone formation, the Fox Hills sandstone. This overiies the Pierre shales conformably and represents the deposits of a shallow- ing Pierre sea. It is the most recent of the marine formations of the Great Plains province in Canada. After its deposition the sea receded southward and never again extended as far north as this area although its recurrence in areas to the south is evinced by the Cannonball marine member of the Lance formation in southern North Dakota.' The rock is a fine-grained, friable sandstone or unconsolidated sand. On the weathered surfaces of outcrops it is stained yellow or brown by iron oxides formed by the decomposition of the ferromagnesian silicates. When freshly broken and un- weathered it is light grey in colour. The color is controlled by > Belle Fourche foUo. No. 164. Geol. Atl«» ol U.S.. U.S.G.S. • Lloyd, E. R.. 'The Cannonb«ai River Ugnlte «eld, North DakoU." BuU. 541-G, U.S. GaoL Surr., p. 9. 29 the mineral composition in which grains of vitreous quartz predommate i*nth daric green and black grains, which are prob- ably pyroxenes and amphiboles next in amount, and grains of feldspars and both light and dark micas in smaller quantity. I he dark micas are mostly decomposed and in their places are rusty stams. The rock is calcareous and effervesces freely with hydrochloric ac.d. Whether the calcium carbonate is present as an ongmal lime cement or as a derompositio., product is hard to tell m so fnable a rock. Cross-bedding is common and the alternation of hard and soft layers causes the rock to weather in bands, the soft layers receding more quickly than the hard. The hard layers are made so by an iron cement which collects along certam bands and causes them to become indurated. Ihe iron also collects in concretions and nodules and some beds are composed almost completely of these with a small amount of grey sand matrix. The sandstone weathers to bluffs and cliffs and this feature along with its yellow colour makes it easily dis- tinguishable from the crumbling grey Pierre shales beneath it The passage from the underlying beds is in most places abrupt" the ferruginous sandstone of the Fox Hills lying directly on the argillaceous shale of the Pierre; but in a few places alternating bands of shale and sandstone mark a transition and no definite line can be drawn. w^'l^ ""'^ sandstone outcrops along the border of the wood i. „ plateau capping the top of the Pierre where it disappea., . . the Tertiary rocks of the plateau. Its thick- ness IS nowhere greater than 75 feet and in most places is much less^ Since it is so thin and outcrops on the steep face of the bluff or escarpment bounding the plateau, its areal extent is not great. Its outcrop can be followed along a sinuous course at the base of the plateau but its width is not great enough to allow of Its being indicated by a separate colour on the accom- panying map. Hence it is mapped along with the Pierre as Cretaceous and its location is marked by the line dividing the Cretaceous horn the Tertiary. The Fox Hills sandstone is a marine deposit and is thought to renr .sent the shallow water deposits of the retreating Pierre sea ..ch, in this area, mark the close of the Cretaceous. The 30 facts which support this conclusion are: (1) the Fox Hills sand- stone overlies the Pierre shale conformably and in places thin beds of the two are intercalated, indicating the continued pres- ence of the sea with no erosion interval, but with enough fluctua- tion in the depth of the water at times to change the nature of the deposition from mud to sand and resulting finally m the shallow Fox Hills sea; (2) the sandstone composition of the Fox Hills indicates shallow water oflf-shore deposits and the cross- bedding indicates current action: (3) the wide distribution and the thinness of the sandstone formation along with its fine- grained character show uniform conditions of deposition which in a marine deposit extending over a wide area is best accounted for by a retreating shore-line; (4) the presence of a marine fauna is proof of marine condit?ons and the close relation of this fauna to that of the Pierre indicates that no great time interval elapsed between the two and that the Fox Hills sea had free communica- tion with the retreating Pierre sea, otherwise one would expect to find a fauna in the shallow water sand deposits quite different f'om that found in the deep water mud deposits. The Fox Hills sandstone is well exposed at the Cretaceous- Tertiary boundary along Twelvemile lake, where the formation is approximately 75 feet thick. A massive layer near the top pro- tects the under strata and the formation stands in bluffs along the shore. This feature is particulariy noticeable along the south side of the lake in tp. 6, range 2. VV. 3rd mer. The rocks dip to the east about 10 feet per mile and the sandstone gradually disappears beneath the level of the lake. It is overiain by a massive, white, sandy clay, the lowest Tertiary member. This white sandy layer has a tendency to stand in bluffs also, so that the junction of the yellow Fox Hills with it is cleariy marked. Towards the west end of the lake, the passage of the Fox Hills downward to the Pierre is marked by an intercalation of yellow sand and grey shale layers. The best exposures of the Fox Hills are those on the north side of Wood Mountain plateau along Twelvemile lake. From there westward, there is an occasional outcrop along the base of thp escarpment marking the plateau border. These outcrops are small and a large part of the northern escarpment SI is covered with boulder clay and grassed so that the base of th^ srrr-o^the^ir - ''- --— -rt^^^-^r^^ ormat.on is about the same here as along T Jlvemiriake It .s probably not greater than 75 feet, but fn most pTat X „,ueh r„t/f 7 7 i"^"^ ^*''^'' ^^^^"^^ *« badlands and^re tentatively placed m the Lance formation. From Rock r^k r Fn H^"' ? ""^^ "^'"^^ °^ '""^ Mountain plat^u the Fox H.11S sandstone outcrops in most of the coul6es The Ts enZir 'k "'"/ ""''''' '° '"^^ °^ '^^'' •" '''•'^kness but Ihi s enough to show the persistence of the formation. From ranee 12. w^tward. no outcrops were found. The west end oTwL Mountam plateau is deeply covered with boulder clay and ^e location of the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary in that area is only approximate. ^ "^ '^ Yellow ferruginous sands, referable to the Fox Hills fnr tnafon are also reported by Dawson on both sides of the French- man nver along the International Boundary.' Thl Shv was not visited by the writer and since the Fo^ Hills and S re are represented by the same colour on the geologbarln s location cannot be shown. swiogicai map, its 10 flet ind Z^""^ '""^ "''"■ '^' ^''^'^' P^^t '» '^ """ch less. 10 feet and less being common in exposures. McConnell places Its maximum thickness for the Cvoress HilU »r.. J»k ISO fpot » anri :* • I . ^'^P'^^'"' "'"s area to the west as rrnl ■ \r x"°*" ^ ^ ^ *'''" formation where it out- crops in Montana North Dakota, and South Dakota. In the Bel e Fourche quadrangle it is estimated at 140 feet.' Farthe! SfS "S, '" " ""rr '■'^"" '' ^"^'"^ ^ thickness of urn feet.* Over most of the area where it is present it is a thin P. P. Mukci..^,^ '"' und^und «.„ r«ourc« of .heeenul G«t Plata.." 32 formation and represents the off-shore deposits of the retreating Pierre sea. The Fox Hills sandstone is not abundantiy supplied with fos • ^ in this area and the Pierre shale was not examined with a view to finding fossils. These two formations have usually been considered as one and the following list of mvertebrate fossils is taken from McConnell's report on the f.erre and Fox Ss formations of the Cypress Hills-Wood Mountam area.' Linpiia niHda Meek and Hayden. Ostrea patina Meek and Hayden. CUamys nebrascensis Meek and Hayden. Pteria Uniuiformis Evans and Shumard. Pleria (OxyUma) nebraseana Evan* and Shumard. Inoceramus altus Meek. Inoceramus barabini Morton. Inoceramus sattnsis var. nebraieensis, Owen. Inoceramus tenuilineatus Hall and Meek. Cervilla recta Meek and Hayden. Gervilla recta, var. borealis Whiteavea. Modiola attenuata Meek and Hayden. Yoldia scitula Meek and Hayden. YMia evansi Meek and Hayden. Lucina occidenlalis Morton. Cyprina ovata Meek and Hayden. Protocardia subquadrata Evans and Shumard. Protocardia borealis Whiteaves. CaUista {Dosiniopsis) deweyi Meek and Hayden. Mactra {Cymbophora) warrenana Meek and Hayden. Mactra (Cymbophora )gracUis Meek and Hayden. Liopistha (Cymella) undata Meek and Hayden. Netera morecauensis Meek and Hayden. Haminea occidentalis Meek and Hayden. Actaon aUenuatus Meek and Hayden. Cinulia concinna Meek and Hayden. Anisomyon alveolus Meek and Hayden. Anisomyon centrale Meek. Lunatia concinna Hall and Meek (sp.). Auchura americana Evans and Shumard (sp.). VanikoropHs tuomeyana Meek and Hayden (sp.). Baculites compressus Say. Bactdites grandis Hall and Meek. iljcConndl. R. G..'.G«ol. Surr.. Can.. Ann. Kept., vol. I. IMS. p. M C. 33 ScapkiUs abysrinus Morton (sp.). ScaphiUs nicoUeUi Morton. ScaphiUs nodosus Owen. ScapkiUs subilobosus Whiteave*. PlactnUctras planceta OeKay (»p.). i rEHTlARY (?) SYSTEM. Lance Formation. ploraoon. and ,„„eys o( the Temtorles in ,he lifti,, and ,tx fhl ■ ",?"'"'°8 I-* Laramie qnestion, as it has l»en ral W there » sun disagm^ment. Briefly stated the present c^itbn' rnL?rsrr"^T^^-'---XpSt' Their '^r • ^"^ °^ *''" ^''»^«1 States Geological Survey ralaeontological Society and published in the Bulletin nf \\1 Although there .s still disagreement the Unitec^ StrtrSwai tatiyely accepted here. classification .s ten- clays?ndt^"? ^T'f" '°"''''' ^^ ^ ^"'« °^ sombre-coloured S and bandn? '^•''"'" "^^ °' '•«"'*^ ^"^ carbonaceous ^v^!J u °^ clay-ironstone nodules. The beds where exposed, have a tendency to weather to a badland totgrlphy f 34 The formation overHes the marine. Fox H«"\«"'8 itself a freshwater formation, as shown by .to foss. S^a ;nd s overlain conformably by the Fort Union, a typical SwTter Eocene-Tertiary formation. It is - many plac« rlilar lithologically. to the -erlying Fort Un^n^hat .t cannot be separated from it. It contams however, dino^unan Sl8 and tWs is the distinguishing mark which separates the Zc. formation from the Fort Union formation. The naj^e "Unce formaUon" has been then adopted for the non-manne dLcTur-Cing formation overlying the Fox Hills sandstone U ^Uces the terms "Ceratops beds." "Lo^r Fort Union ••Laramie." "Hell Creek beds." and "Somber beds which have bteTuS by different geologists to denote this formation. U^ taken from the term "Lance Creek beds" aPPLed by J- D^ Hatcher to the beds where they are represented in Converse county. Wyoming.* , , ^ . • i It has been the practice in the older reports of the Geological Survey of Canada to include under the term "I^aram'e all the stratigraphically conformable formations from the top of the pTire fS Hills to the unconformity below the O hgocene. In The Wood Mountain-WiUowbunch area this interval includes the Lance^d the Fort Union formations. It has been generally ^ecognizS hat what was mapped as Laramie in southern sXctwan belongs largely to the Fort Union ^ormat.n ^but the presence of the Lance formation there had no been re^g^ nizeJ before the present investigation was "-^e. although both Dawson and McConnell recognized . lower division of the Fort Sn beds, as will be shown later, and Dowling mentions the probability of the presence of the Lance formation m Saskatche- W3n ^ • In his earlier writings Dawson referred to the HKnite-beanng formations overlying the Fox Hills sandstone as the Lignite Tertiary. Colu»W«." Od. Surv.. Can., Mem. 53. l»U. P- S». ty. lib 35 The recopiition of the Unce formation in the area under consideration depend, on the following observations. The rocks overlyng the Fox Hills sandstone along the south of W^ Mountain plateau, and particularly in the vicinity of Rock creek, are grey and white clay and sand with a few small lignite •earns and carbonaceous shale beds. They have in general a Fo^uT r^"""' '^"V^' ^'^y^ ^"'^ «^"'l'' overlying the frnm^i . °"! 'u °*^' '°'^''''^' ^'f^'^'ly *hen viewed from a d.sta..ce^ and they have weathered to a rugged badland th^^ '■ T?'"7" '" '''* ^°""^*«* dinosauriaf fossils from these beds. These facts are all suggestive of the presence of the Lance formation and. taken in connexion with the location of the beds just where one would expect to find the Lance, and the recognition of similar beds as Lance to the south in Montana Wyoming, and the Dakotas. seem to prove its presence here' Its upper limit cannot be set as it grades into the Fort Union- and as it occurs along the escarpment of the Wood Mountain plateau and is a thin formation, its areal extent is small The following description of a section in the badlands of Kock creek is taken fr.'im Dawson.' "The most instructive section, however, in the Wood Moun- tain region, lies twenty miles south of the settlement of that name on the forty-ninth parallel near the 425 mile point from Red river; here beds undoubtedly belonging to the Lignite Tertiary formation-which east of this locality has covered so great an area of country-are found clearly superposed on indubitable ducST"'..'°' ^^l '"P^^"''"' ^'"^ ""'"^''°"^' ^"d are pro- duced by th, streams flowing from the southern escarpment of the watershed plateau above referred to, which has here been gashed by their action into most rugged Bad Lands "The general section at this place which though not exposed nirZ • ! ^\ ^"^ °"^ 'P°'' '' ^'^'"^'■kably clear: is naturally divided into four parts. "Taking first the highest bed seen, the order is as follows: 0. Yelljwish sand and arenaceous clay, sometimes indurated in certain layer, and formmg a soft sandstone. It forms the flat plateau- "ke top of the highest hills seen. About 50 feet. «. »'q°""°" ^' "•• "^""^ '"^ '^"" °' "» *^ t»™U«l". MootreiU. 1875. p. lOJ 36 - Ctay. .nd .r«.eeou. cUy. with . genefl purplUh-gfy colour wh«. iewed from a euunce. AkmtlSOftet. , Ytllo*i.h and ru.ty «nd.. in *)m« place, approaching arenacwu. cUyt. often nodular. About 90 fttt. •,».!„»« i. GreyUh-black cUy. rather hard and ven;^honK,gen«u. breaking into wnaU angular fragment, on weathering, and forming earthy bMika. AboHt 40 f**t sun. "The whole of the beds appear to be conformable, and disre- garding minor irregularities, are quite horizontal to the eye. "The clays and arenaceous clays of the upper part of division fi are very regularly bedded, and include a lignite bearing zone. Three lignite beds of from one to two fc-et each in thickness were ob«.rved but they are separated from each other by rather wide clay partings, and are not pure or of good quality. A bed r^ch in thrremains of plants, immediately overlies the upper lignite. It is composed of a very fine, and nearly white indurated day. in which The most delicate structures are per ectly preserved. From its soft and crumbling character, it is almost impossible to Ob' vn or keep good specimens: but in the fragments which we-e ircerved. a few very interesting plants appear Ut these. «>me are characteristic of the Fort Union group, and identi- cal with those of Porcupine Creek. The association of remains is that of a fresh-water pond or lake, and a fine new spec.es of Lemna occurs abundantly. ... „„,» "In the lower portion of this division, the beds are more sombre in tint, and little differentiated by colour which else- where often renders the stratification apparent. They contain some layers of sand and sandstone, which show much false- bedding and current structure, and sometimes terminate sud- denly with abrupt undulations. In some places, sufficient cal- careous cement has been introduced among the grains to form hard sandstone, but their thickness is never great, nor do they extend far. Much ironstone occurs in thin nodular layers, and some selenite. About one-third from the base of this division a bed was found, in which curious fruits have been preserved, referable to a new species of Msculus. "The most interesting feature of this part of the section, however, is the occurrence of the remains of vertebrate animals. 37 They are found excluwvely in the lower portion of this division and most of them below the fruit-bed just mentioned. They are generally closely connected with the ironstone layers, and are often themselves impregnated with that substance. They are also, unfortunately, apt to be attached to the ironstone no- dules, or mcorporatcd with them, and traversed by crack-lines in such a way as to render it difficult to obtain good specimens' A more prolonged search among these hills, than I was able to make, would, however, no doubt result in the discovery of local- ities where the remains are more abundant and in better preser- vation. "Professor Cope has kindly examined the vertebrate fossils obtamed in connection with the expedition. Those from this place mdude fragments of several, species of turtles, scales of a gar-pike, and broken bones of dinosaurian reptiles. Of the turtles two are new species, to which Professor Cope has given the names —Plaslomenus costatus and P. coalescens— and there are portions of species of Trionyx and Compsemys. The gar-pike belongs to the genus Clastes, and of the dinosaurian remains though mostly too fragmentary- for determination a caudal vertebrate resembles that of Hadrosaurus. "Division y, the lower series of yellow sands and arenaccou- clays. ,s a much better defined member of the section than Division a. It is exposed chiefly in the banks of the smaller ravines, but also in the upper parts of those of the main brooks The nodules which it contains, are large and irregular, but often approach more or less closely to a spherical form. They are arranged in horizontal lines in the exposures. No fossils were found in this part of the section. "The line of separation between divisions y and S, is quite well-marked by the change in colour. The latter shows scarcely a trace of stratification lines. I was very anxious to obtain fossils from it but succeeded only in collecting a few small frag- ments. They, however, indicate purely marine conditions- and one of them is referable to the genus Leda or Yolida. The identification of the horizon of this bed does not, however, de- pend on such slight giovinds as these, as it was afterwards traced westward, «nd found to be continuous with well-marked foirill- feroua Cretaceoui roclu. "Divi»ion a and j9 of thi« Bcction, clearly belong to the Lignite Tertiary. They probably repretent, however, merely the lower layer» and differ somewhat in lithological character and arrangement, from thoM Been at Porcupine Creek, thirty milea eatt of thli place, and at other localities ttill further eaat- ward. Thew beds, no doubt, belong to a lower part of the seriea than ia expoeed in any of the sections examined between this locality and the Missouri Coteau, and are probably also older than any of those found in the Souris valley. The beds de- scribed as occurring on the trail south of Wood Mountain, be- long to about the same horizon, and it is probable that those seen on some places on the Trader's Road, may not be much higher up in the series. It would appear that the conditions most favourable to the formation of the deposito of lignite, did not occur frequently or continue long in the earlier stages of the formation in this locality. "Division 6 being certainly Cretoceous it only remams to classify division r. which is so markedly different in character from the beds above and below it. This bed, 1 believe repre- sents group No. 5, of the Cretaceous, or the Fox Hill group of Meek and Hayden." . From Dawson's description it is quite clear that division « of the section is the top of the Pierre formation, division r is the Fox Hills sandstone and divisions a and /9, which he calls the Lignite Tertiary, belong to what has been mapped as Laramie, and is here divided into the Lance and Fort Union formations. Whether the whole of division p of the section should be classed as Lance or not is questionable. Since the Lance cannot be distinguished from the Fort Union lithologically in many places, and in this section division i3 grades into division a, it is impossible to mark an exact division line. The Lance cer- tainly includes that part of division /? up to the location of the vertebrate remains which according to Dawson's diagram is about 30 feet from the bottom. It will be noted that Dawson says that in the lower part of this division the beds are more som- bre in tint and this is also a characteristic of the Lance. The 39 writer eumined thii Motion in the fieW but found no vcrte- l^l^TuJ^*' T^ ''"'• °' '^^ ^" immediately over- lying the Fox Hills sandstone were noted, however, and the upper fll^L u rr '^ J"" '°""*' '° ** lithologically like the Fort Union. Holding then to the definition of the Unce a. the non- manne. dinowiur-bearing bed. of sombre colour, which overlie the Fox Hill. sandstone, the thickne«i of the formation along Rock creek i. placed at S0± feet. I Z?!!? u*' ''°^*^' " '«*" division of the beds that are ctaMed with the Fort Union formation and the probability of these belonging to the Unce is here noted. In discuwing the Uramie of Cypre.. hill, and Wood mountain. McConnell say.- The Laramie may be «parated lithologically oxvr mo.t of the f'^.V'v *^un'*'"'/ *'''^'''^"''- '^'"^ '°*''' °"«' *h'ch sue teeds the Fox Hill conformably wherever the contact plane of the two formation, wa. observed, bears a strong resemblance to SO?^'rrK,°^ "r ^"^ ^'^' '""^' ^"'^ ^°"«'«»» ot about 150 feet of feebly coherent, greyish, and pure white clays, sandy SZ*: A n I!!? °r;''''°"^' ^' "f carbonaceous shales and lignite. A small bed of black clay was also found to be pretty widely distributed. The beds of pure white sands and clays form the most di.stinct.ve feature of this band, and were observed TU7 f **Pt'°"«- wherever the base of the formation was exposed. In the badlands south of Wood mountain this division consists almost exclusively of clay. The upper division IS more arena, eous and is predominately yellowish in colour It has a maximum thickness in the district of 750 feet and is composed of sands passing into soft sandstone, silts, and clays and also holds a few beds of hard sandstone, part of which is of ll^Hl*" .'•'xK^T* *°^'?" *'*'' ^""^ carbonaceous shales and lignite. This lower division is very noticeable both north and south of the Wood Mountain plateau on account of the white colour of Its beds, which distinguishes it from the yellow beds of the upper division. It is very striking where it overiies the Fox Hills sandstone along Twelvemile lake and outcrops to the east along Big Muddy valley for a distance of 50 miles It was 7J> i. Ml If t 40 noted in the bottom of the branch of Big Muddy valley now occupied by WiUowbunch lake and Lake of the Rivera; so that, should it be classed as Unce, that formation would have a wide distribution in southern Saskatchewan. But as no dinosaurian remains have been found in these white beds and as they differ lithologically so much from the typical sombre coloured beds of the Lance, it is preferable to include them as a lower division of the Fort Union. However, it is probable that the lower 150 feet of the lignite-bearing beds throughout the area may be re- ferred to the Lance formation. From the information at hand and set forth in the preceding paragraphs, it appears, then, that rocks referable to the Lance formation outcrop in the badlands area, in the vicinity of Rock creek south of Wood mountain. The location of the out- crops is along the southern escarpment of the Wood Mountain plateau just above the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary line. The areal distribution of these beds in Canada is small. They are confined to the area of Rock creek and its small tributary coulees in tps. 1 and 2, ranges 4 and 5, W. 3rd mer. No fossils were collected from the Lance formation; but those cited above as collected by Dawson, the presence of lignite and carbonaceous layers, and the fact that the beds grade upward to the Fort Union lads indicate that it is a freshwater formation. This is further attested by the arenacetius character of some of the beds which show false-bedding and ripple-marks and by the presence of ironstone ntxlules and selenite. The evidence collected in this area is of interest also in its bearing on the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary problem. The period was one of transition; sedimentation proceeded quietly and more or less continuously from the marine Cretaceous of the Pierre and Fox Hills through the freshwater Lance formation, with its Tertiary flora and Cretaceous dinosaurs, to the typical, freshwater Eocene-Cretareous of the Fort Union formation. Deep sea conditions are represented by the shale deposits of the Pierre. A change to shallow water conditions gradually took place as the Pierre sea retreated southward, and the marine Fox Hills sands were deposited. At the same time a Tertiary flora developed on land and when the Cretaceous sea finally 41 withdrew, at the end of the Fox Hills epoch, it* place was taken lignite of the Lance were deposited. However, this gradual change from the marine Pierre-Fox Hills to the freshwater Lance with us Tertiary flora, was not accompanied by the extmctjon of the Cretaceous fauna. The marine forms in the sea which had retreated southward, were still of Cretaceous Z^^ '"n'l" '^" '"•:'' ""'^ '^^"'"P^ °^ ^he Lance. Cretaceous reptiles still persisted, as is evinced by the remains of turtles and dinosaurs. The final extinction of the reptiles marks the end o the Lance, and was followed by the deposition of the typical freshwater Tertiary deposits of the Fort Union for- mation. Throughout this transition period there were many fluctua- tions in the shore-lines of b«,th the marine and freshwater luxlies- but the general tendency was toward a shallowing and southward retreat of the Cretaceous seas with a concurrent southward ad- vance of the Tertiary freshwater bodies. The final retreat of the sea from the area is marked by the division between the Fox Hills sandstone and the Lance formation. There was. however a recurrence of the sea farther south. F. R. Lloy.l de.srril^es the Lance formation in the Cannonball Ri>-er lignite field. North 2SoT\:^"r '"? '" '"° ''"' "' ''"'''^■'''' l-ds are oveHain by 250 to 300 feet of marine btnls which he calls the Cannonball marine member and which has a m.niified Fox Hills fauna ' The same occurrence is descnlH-.l by T. W. Stanton in an attempt membe7» ^'""■'^^"^"^ ^^^ "^ '»" ^'^^ "P to and i.ul.uling this The recurrence of a Cretaceous fauna at this horizon further verifies the above conclusion that the passage from Cretaceous to Tertiary was a transition period. It must be th..ught of as a time when a flourishing Tertiary flora had develo,H.l on lan.l while a Cretaceous fauna still existed in the seas and the Cretaceous hfe_gave way very slowly k^fore the advancing Tertiary forms. BuU.'mI'c, pp.Y.O^" ''''°"""^' '*'"" """"• '^"' '^""" O-^""" L-a C«... Surv.. 42 No definite horizon can be fixed upon as the dividing line between the Cretaceous and Tertiary. TERTIARY SYSTEM. Fort Union Formation. The dominant formation of the Wood Mountain-WiUow- bunch area is the Fort Union. It forms Wood Mountain plateau and occupies all the higher parts of the area, although in places hidden by superficial deposits of Pleistocene and Glaaal are It is a continuation of the rocks described under the llnce formation. It overlies the Lance conformably or grades upward from it; and where the Lance is not present it rests on the Fox Hills with apparent conformity. The Fort Union is a freshwater formation made up of a succession of almost horizontal strata of clays, clay shales, sands, and lignites with a small amount of sandstone (Plate I). In ueneral, it is quite uniform in appearance. The colours of the clays, shales, and sands range from yellowish-grey through drab and grey almost to white. None of the members are greatly indurated except the sandstone, and it forms a very small part of any section and is not continuous for any great distance. Sandstone and clay-limestone concretions are commmi in the beds. The sandstone concretions are commonly elongated in form as if formed along underground water-courses. They resist weathering and in many places are left on the surface hke long broken columns after the surrounding material has all been washed away (Plate IV). In other places the nodules are joined together or considerable portions of sand layers have become in- durated and hoodoo-like forms are left after the less indurated parts have been carried away (Plate V). In still other places a mortar-bed structure has developed in the sands and these layers, on account of their resistance to weathering being greater than that of the surrounding sands and clays, are left capping hiUs or standing out prominently along the edges of coulfes. The day-ironstone concretions are most plentiful along certain strata and in places form an almost continuous band from 1 to 3 inches 43 in thickness. Gypsum in the form of selenite occurs in many places as a partmg between strata. The succession of strata varies greatly from place to place and although a particular member may in places be tracS fo; several miles, the sections are so different at different points that no correlation of mdividual beds can be made. The deposits SilTr* °ir '"•""' °^}'°^^' *'■'"• '"t^^ngering lenSTof days sands, and hgn.tes and the variations in the succession are due to changing conditions of deposition. The beds are a series of shallow water, lake deposits. This is evinced by the variabil- ity •" character of the lens-shaped beds, the thin bedding, the character of the deposits, the occurrence of gypsum between strata, the lignite beds, and a continental fossilTa L flT^ A conspicuous feature of the Fort Union is the presence of ^J^ ^"li u"'^ P'°^"'^ ^y '^^ *'"™'"8 °f 'ig"ite beds. The beds above the burned seams show the nost marked effects a^H r;y°'",'"°"'y baked and changed in colour, some to cream and buff colours, but most conspicuous are those changed to oftva nr P'^^-n-derable slag having the appearance m!. LS Tr ^.^" P'"'^"'^ ^y '^^ f"«'°" «f the over. oT imTi ,41 A '^,l^y^'^„^'^ "»««t noticeable in the badlands or semi-badlands. Along Big Muddy valley south of Harptree where a seam of coal has burned and left a layer of clinkers, the overiying clay was melted and ran down the slopes and is now to be found •" the bottom of the neighbouring coul^ or strewn over the coulte sides. The same seam is represented less than one mile away by an 18-foot seam of lignite that 't'h^f '^"/ff f^ '" the description of the Lance formation that the lower 150 feet of the beds that have been classed as Sr tk"' r/ '""^'' ^'^^"'' "°'°"'" *•'«" the rest of the forma- tion. These beds outcrop to the north and south of Wood Mountain plateau and in the abandoned stream channel of Big Muddy valley. They are so light in colour that they are com monly spoken of as the white beds. They consist of greyish and pu^ white clays, sandy clays, and sands, with occalnal beds d vSn^ "^"t •''"'" ""^ ''^''"- ^^' ''"^'t^ ^--'"^ in this division are not important; the thickest noted is only 2 feet. : i I Ifl 44 It » in this division, however, that the most refractory clays of ** '^STtLrrlr 150 feet of white beds the colours are pre- dominately grey and yellow. This upper division »»«« » f >«?' yellowish tint which distinguishes it from the lower white beds^ In it. all the important Ugnite beds of the a«a a« fou^d^ many good red and buff-burning clays and sands. Exjwsrt SnsTthis division in the main coulees a« m Placjs ^50 to 200 or more feet in thickness, and the total thickn^s of the f^- mation in the area is placed at 700± feet. The figure for Ae latter thickness is obtained by calculations made from barom- eter elevations taken at various pomts. The following section exposed on the south side of Big Mud- dy lake in sec. 26. tp. 2. range 22. W. ^ndmer.^""'^^ .^^ character and variability of the strata. The bottom ffth^s S is probably not more than SO feet above the white beds of the lower division. Beginning at the top. at the prairie level. ^^ ^^^ Blue-grey clay with clay-ironstone band ^^ ^ Grey sand q g Shaly blue clay q 9 Lignite ' " ' ' 5 « Grey clay I Lignite " jq q Grey clay j 5 Dark grey shale • ■• -j q Blue-grey clay with clay-ironstone bands Lignite— very small. ^ Grey clay 6 Lignite g Grey clay 1 Lignite 10 Sandy grey clay q 5 Shaly and woody clay j^ q Sandy grey ctay q 9 Clay and lignite j g Lignite 6 Woody clay with gypsum j q Lignite 2 Yellow-grey sand 45 Ligiiit«> ^•** Shaly gre>--wliite cUy I Lignite ' Grey day ][ / ^ Lignite (worked for local use by farniere). *? Sandy grey cUy with tandMone concretions 7 Yellow-grey shale with fossil leaves Sandy yellow-grey clay Lignite * Sandy grey clay ^ Lignite ^ Grey clay ** Lignite ^ Grey clay * Lignite ....[ ' Sandy grey clay J Lignite at water's edge Inchw 6 6 6 4 3 9 203 4 flor,l^^ ^°7 ^IT " '^'■'y ^^"* •" ^«« «"d "'"tains a fossil flora of nearly 400 species, and a fossil fauna of both inveX g'm D, "^--^f ^^-,. The following plants were collectS by Sa^n^ " *'•' "'^ ""^ "^ ^^"^ "^y Sir Willia,^ Onoclea sensibUis Linnaeus. Davallia (Stenoloma) tenuifolia Swarta. Equisetum sp. Physagenia parlalorii Heer. Glyptostrobus europaeus Heer. Sequoia hmgsdorfii Brongniart. Thuja interrupta Newberry. Lemna (spirodela) scutata Dawson. Phragmites ? sp. Scirpus sp. Populus RichardsoHi Heer. Salix Raeana? Heer. Corylus rostrata Aiton. Coryltf americana Walten. Platanus keterophiOlus Newberry. Diospyros sp. 11 Sapindus affinis Newtarry. JUoMiNU tondnniu Newberry. gJumniuwp. Cwrya anHtuorum Newberry. Juifant ein*r*aT Vibumim pubetetnt PurA. Aucidus antiquus D»w«on. Trapa borealisf Heer. CarpoUtHts •?. A considerable quantity of fo«il wood wa. f^cM^. met of it the wood of conifen.. but some of .t referaWe to the ^L Pappus, a genus which is al«, largely «P«sented among ** 'rtbt'S^U from the Fort Union of southern Saskatche- wan is given by D. B. Dowling» as follows: Unio priscus. CorbtUa mactriformt. Thaumastus Hmnaeiformit. Coniobasis nOrascensU. G. unitUarinata. Campeloma produetum. C. mtiUilineaHiM. Vmpanu trocUformis. V. leai. V. ctmradi. And the following plant.: Plaianu, »««-''? ^^^J^ '• -«^- ^*'^'" '^ „>yni. Quercus .p.. Taxites driki, T. oeadenUUis. Characteristic fossils of the Fort Union formation. andjJso of the other formations described here, are given by A. G. l^n- id for neighbouring areas in North Dakota and Montana.' QUATERNARY SYSTEM. Superficial Deposits. The rocks discussed under the Cretaceous and Terti^ sys- tems are quite different from later deposits. JJe freUc^us Sid Tertiary rocks are alike in that they are all flat-lying sedi- TgcoL Sutv.. Cn.. Mem. 53. "C,-! teld. of M^itob.. SMkatchnmn. A««U. «d — Jour. G€0l.. VOL XIX, W". PP- 507-S47. 47 ment,; and they form a conformable series ranginij through th« manne deposits of the Rene and Fox Hill, to the f^hwatr ♦ ^!!!!r^u "'lJ"t««T rocks were eroded to about their present SS^'eWr-'"' ^t continental glad^^T^h" rieistocene era. The glaciers. left behind the boulders boulder dayB. sands s.lts and gravels, which mantle the surfa« e^S gST u' '*"P "'^"' °' ~"'^ - «'-« stream cou^. Glaaal boulders are scattered, here and there overX "^Tr V" T '"' ''' •"'^'"^«' •" '^^ boulder ly They ?Lk • ?°fi '^^ ^^"''"^ ^"'^ K""'^'*^ ^^ from the Pre^ Cambnan shield, and limestone boulders from the PaJLl^fc ^ of Mamtoba and indicate that the glaciers came f^mThe jrrt£^t^o7;sss^^^^^^^ Boulders frr-n 1 to 3 feet in diameter are very thickly strewn m places along • .e banks of the abandoned valfey i^^which tie Frenchman nver now runs. They occur in lines abng 7he ti^fa at certam heights and seem to have been dropped from strand^ ofthe t.7'"l''"'n '"^"'y "''^" *« consiS^that thtorigS of the abandoned valleys is attributed partly to the action of U^e streams during the retreat of th' continental Tc^°' Hence the Presence of floating ice at this time is not surprisfng" an^ but of different ongm have been noted along stream courses SthrsSi^Sh^^s;:" The nver from above the forks St i::r; '*' t^^^ •'^"•^^ °^ '^•^y- «» f-* or it t of old iJTh ri"' ^l^ '^''^ '^°''' '''''''^^' the sites, probably of old landslides, where the high land lies 15 or 20 chains back tate TrSf '""'^r "°* ""^^ ^^- ^0 f-t above tht water. The section exposed uy the scarped banks shows occa- 30. ;i«™-- *•• ■■■^'» »^'» "' "» N>^» and Churchm riv«." G«.. Surv.. C^. „.„. 1 * J? i:^ STofthle boulders gives the impression that they were distribution of these ?°".'f>«=" ^ .^ *^ ^i^j^r conditions dropped by fl<»ting .«. "^rV^'i^ESow i "Two tiers of «« th* South Saskatchewan, below the e-idow. » " n^nte of w^er-worn limestone, granite and gneissoid boulder.. - E^atS clay yS clay and stratified sand occur. The Te'S mlt hL l^n debited in very quiet waters; a mTcrXc eimination. subsequently made, failed to reveal any '"%"Sr:L descriptions it is evident that the horizon^ h^nd/of boulders along the Saskatchewan occur m stratifi«l S^l deJ^itL and have been exposed by the river cutting .^ vaTey th^gh these deposits; whereas the lines of bou de« Ilnn J the valley of the Frenchman river are not in stratified deSitebuTwere deposited by floating ice after the mam valley tdSn ^cTvated a^d are confined to the immediate slopes or '^"•^ulder^ Ctms ^''Ze.r over most of the area. In Dlac^ut not more than a foot or two thick, but on the north Sr;fVc""«„'^",°Li ,„3„„ great distanc (tk»» !-«. 1««^ A. C. BUn-,. CoUo. No. .... Uniud SUU. G«*«^ AU-. U.^G.S. pp. . D.«an. G. M.. "G^-CV .«. «»«rc« - th. 4W. p«M." Mo««-. »75. p. .... 51 t^!^.^ •••t «»d louth were noted and time are thought to SLiJi^iirCir'r'"'^^- 0^«totheIackof'«Lly iSTto ^ ?u" "" .** '""^^ '"^ • dl.unce it » iZ dip to. There may be minor undulations and broad anticlines jnd .yndJne.. but no evidence of faulting or fold^wM noS in any pUce. The only deformation the bed. hav? unde^^ u^. ''t^?"' ? *!!•* "'•''* "companied the coSJn^ul upUftwhich brought thi. part of the continent above ti.e ^^ a 2«^nnmgof ti,e Tertiary age. Any minor elevation! " de- ^^ which may have taken pUce «nce a„ not marked in GEOLOGICAL HISTORY. The history of the Wood Mountain-Willowbunch area is e~ent,ally ti,e same as that of the Great Plains of which i Horm, an mt^, part. No attempt is made to interpret it. P^-Sm! of Zh? • *?'™**^ *'"^^°"» ^"d d^P'e^'ions. Several were deposited. The evidence for this is not to be found in the bST-hrS^ • ^u' !? P*^"' *"***«' ^^o-" the Pre-Cam- bnan shield acroM the Great Plains a series of Pal«,zoic a^d dnll hol« at ^^ous point, show that these extend westward T^'jz.r "^'"^ '' ^^ "^'^^ ^-^- -'^ moun^„*h^!l'•* ^•*^*^°"" °' depressions were accompanied by mountam buildmg m tiie Great Plains area. They were of an epemHjen.c rather ti,an of an orogenic nature. The ^ii^L^ have remained approximately flat-lying and no faultinror foW the continental elevations and depressions. Even the penSs of ^ any great unconformities between the strata of different if n .he ' kou, Cdorada, and Montana ataget m he Pu.rou aedimentt are of continental ongin; ,t,a.ir . depoaita. ThU brief aummary bringa the t / u, to the Upper Cretaceous, which i» the rt.,ri>ented by aedimenU in the majH^a. The Ard it 1 ox Hill' aandstone belong to the Montana .nt« n- th-> hiatory can be more defimtely The Palaorcc era la lepreaented by Ordovidan. Silurian. «d Etonian .. .enu and the M«.o«,ic era by Ci.U«o«. aedimenta « tbaaa, only thercati' geological firat perioi Pierre ahat atage and u< i *™*i,rv>K the M< a. .tage of the Upper Cretaceoua. then. *hi. IrL a w.t % ' -^ whole interior of the continent, waa Z^ • " w« . ed by the «a. A great thickne«i of Sr«. .cpo^iten. ... top of which i. represented by d^e Sm Le ofthe map-r.^. Toward, the latter part o the ^ of the Piem. .ea th-re were fluctuation, m ^e depth erf S« water with a tendency ,o shallowing. Thi. » indicated by th! o^n« of gyp-um. iron stains, and calcareous concreUon. * thH^rtj^ This .Ute of fluctuation gradually gave pU« toTe .hLlow water condition, which Pre-'W dunng L deposition of the .ucceeding Fox H.lls sandstone. The Fox HiuTis a cross-bedded marine sandstone and must have bew Suited in a shallow sea with current action Jtjs an o^ shore deposit formed during the retreat of the Pierre ^- Aft^ the depStion of the Fox Hills sandstone, the sea withdrew finally ^m this area and its pUce was taken by ^-hwater lake, and .wamps in which the sands, clays, lignites, and carbonaceous S^al« of S^e Lance and Fort Union formations were deposited. Thelhange from marine to freshwater conditions marks the end of the mSozoIc era and the beginning of the Tertian'- This 1«« w^very gradual. A Tertiary flora had developed on hmd whHe the sea Ufe was still Cretaceous in character and many Zd reptiles of Meso«,ic types still lived. Of these, the dmosaurs ^re^ abundant. The final disappearance of the dinosaurs marks tife end of the deposition of tiie Lance formation. The CJce formation is then a transitional formation between tte M^zoic and Tertiary eras but is here tentatively classed with SSa^. The overlying Fort Union, which is a continuation ss of th« Unce without the reptile remain., mark, a period of typi- ^' ™*'*"; ^""""^ deposition. It contain.VS.n Sa of appro«mateJy 400 .pecie. which i. definitely EocenT n a^ T^ condiuon. at thi. time were pa.ticularly favouraifeT; nToZZ '"::!!• *^*' '^'^ '^''^^'^" °f '"■«h K'-ie clay. No Ohgocene «diment. are found in the map-area bu depo..t. of th., age occur in the Cypres Hill, area to t^w^t and m North DakoU to the «H,thea.t. Tho« in the Cyp^ to irL? "^ «>"«'.7erate» wh««e depcition i. thou^ to have been concurrent with the upheaval of the Rocky moun urn., whence the ^im^nt. came. Thc« in North DakolTre Mnds and clay, and may repre«?nt a fmer .tate of the wme s.,li menu a. the Cypre«i HiB. conglomerate. If any o "m^" cene^iment. were deposited in the n, .p-area they have £ removed bv erosion ^" Following the Oligocene deposition there wa. a period of ero..on dunn, which the Great Plain, area wa« baXdle2 Th« .. marked by the plateau .urfaces on the top. of t^e C™ H.lfe and Wood Mountain plateau. Then, following an upW of ne whole region, another period of erosion .set in wS .ng th.8 t.me the present drainage system was largely develor^ :zz^.TaT' "' """^^ °^ ''' T.rtiaryVU-;:':^ eroded away. A few remnants, such as the Worder ro account for he occurrence of quartzite pebbl. - whic. .re found mix^wkh later gJaciaJ deposits. He assum. hat th- pebbles werelp^H over the plains during the period of uplif. an,, they wTre |^er :;y it * 1 'f I " ! i S4 reworked by the Keewatin gladers and mixed with its boulder S^ Whether this explanation must be --rted m Uje ^Oj^ S hi«tory of the area or not to account (or quartote pebbto S«r«3^ot be decided. The pebbles may have been earned ^ m^dose of the Tertiary era was marked by a change of dima^ (..rtemperate to frigid and during the Pleistocene ^e !^^ overridden by a continental glacier. This changed the ^aT^^^verylittle. On the retreat of the glaaer a vene^ of taSder day was left whidi is in places not over one foot thick^ AkZZ Steau du Missouri in the northeast part of the area Ae 5>uU« day is piled up to great depths. This escarpment ^tbU« form,^ a Lrier to i« advan« for some t>nje and - » ^t deal of morainic material accumulated there. In front of STglS as it retreated, were deposited gravels, sands, and «lte ?Sr?ll hollows and are of local dis^bution only- The mo^^ iXi effect of the glaciation was the JisorganuaUon of ^e Zinage The ice came from the northeast and block«i the SS drainage diannels. The supply of water from the |«- i^t^asWSge and new drainage diannels were develop«i or^ldlSsSin^uth a.id east to the Missouri river were great- Zt^tZ. ThenonthereUeatoftheice.drain^^ L STand east was resumed, the water-supply w^ mud. ImalW and many of the gladal drainage channels were aban- r^ mg Mudd^ valle? is the best example in the map-area o?"ud. ^abandoned valley. Other valleys are now <^up^ by "^ms of greatly diminished size like the Frenchman nver which runs in one of the old gladal channels. F ™m the retreat of the continental gl^er unul the pre^t time there has been very little diange^ ^.^^^"^''U*'^^ ^^ ried the lar gladal streams have been silted up and are now ^uptl by ..termittent streams and saline lakes or by streams S^^tly diminished size. At present precipitation « alm«^t bala^ by evaporation and absorption by the soil so that the ^*;??rom tiie^a is very small. Over mc«t of *e .- tW i, interior basin drainage, and. in the area of the Coteau du Mis- -"T^iU-Hm. F. H. H.. Tb. MooU- U*. ol U« K««tln tee.*»t." V.S. CI S.,T.. PnL P»P« No. so. p. SI. 55 •ouri, where the morainic material is heaped up and the surface water is restricted to sloughs and small lakes, there is a lack of any drainage system. In the vicinity of the abandoned valleys the draina^ „ to the saline lake. wK h he in the old channdl and north of Wood Mountain platea . to Johnston and Siap! hn lakes which he some distance L.,.ad the map-area. Sou£ of the plateau there is through drainage to the Missouri river but the run off is mostly during the spring freshets. The histor,; t^^'T^ v' ?""' '^'*"'y """^ °^ "'*^"« "P °' -tream ? Irirt * rearrangement of the rock within the 56 a. r i r '1 ' rt 1 ? CHAPTER IV. ECONOMIC GEOLOGY. The mineral products of economic importance in the Wood Mountain-Willowbunch area are described under the following headings: coal, clay, gravel and sand. soil, and surface and underground waters. COAL. Occurrence and Distribution. The coal is all lignite and is found only in the Lance and Fort Union formations of the tertiary. The coal of economic im- portance is confined to the Fort Union as the beds in the Lance are too small to be mined. The lignite occurs in flat-lying beds interstratified with clays, sands, and shales. The beds vary in thickness from one inch and less to more than 20 feet. Outcrops are found along the sides of coulees and abandoned river channels (Plate I), it is not possible to trace the beds for any great distance as they are in most places covered with soil and grass and, owing to the mode of their deposition in shallow lakes and swamps, form with the clays, sands, and shales a series of interfingering lens-shaped deposits. However, it was noted that the same succession of strata (lignite, followed upwards by clay with fossil plants and then fine grey sand) occurs at various localities throughout the area examined and that the thickness of the lignite is in each case greater than the average thickness for lignite seams in southern Saskatchewan. It is concluded that they are all contemporane- ous deposits and while there is not a co-extensive seam, the van- ous outcrops are at least at the same horizon. Tne following are a few of the localities where this seam outcrops. II > 57 Sec. Tp. Range W. 2ml mer. Thickne- U 2 23 « < « f*^ W 2 24 •« « ' *> 2 25 • « « ^* M 2 26 - . . " » 3 26 • . . " » 3 26 « « « ^^ 32 3 26 « « . ^' 32 1 28 • « « " 13 5 28 « « « " 4 1 29 • « « ** " ♦ 1 '3rd ' :; ' 16 4 4 «« « 5 24 4 6 « . . " 6 This seam then is recognized over a distance of 78 miles in k^r ' hd'^ltf '"*'°"- ''-r''' ^"^ «'"*" extension fn^t rJir .K '^""^^''^f represents deposition in several small basins rather than m one large basin, the similarity in the succiln throughout the area dunng the time of deposition. The following section exposed in sec. 2, tp. 4. range 23 W. 2nd. mer. illust^^, . the character of the strata aS the number o hp.te seaa. which occur in one section. w2 Z number of hgn.te seams occurring in this section is represent! tive. the aggregate thickness is higher than the average in secaons throughout the area. The coal in this section forms more than one-tenth of the total thickness. . D.,«». G. M.. •■G«to«, ^ ^^ ^ ^, Fany-nlnx^ p.„u.,." M<»t«U. ,„s. ss Feet InchM 40 SMdyday j q 1-ifwte 9 Gny ctay , Shaly lafidftone . - Yelk>wi»h grey da>^-«uidy strMln '^ ^ Lignite 7 <^^<='*y 6 Lignite 6 S«»d 1 e BluecUy j ^ Lignite ^ ^ Sloe cl-y 6 Lignite j „ BluecUy . q Sandy yellow-grey day ^ ^ Lignite 3 S«nd ^^ Q Banded clay and lignive Selenite crystato , - Sandy grey clay with concretion! »' Lignite— with band* of clay and sand ^ Grey aand, grading to clay at bottom '3 ^ Lignite .' ' ' V ' ' j" '» ".' ' Compact, yellow-grey, limy land— conUms bands of cUy- ironstone and sandstone concretions ™ Li«mite— upper part shaly Limy sand with clay-ironstone concretions »' Clay shale ■ • • V Lignite— 2-inch clay parting, 16 inches from the top. this seam is mined— see analysis No. 2, page 61 ^ o Clay shale , ^ Lignite — reported from boring ."'.■'■.' From here to bottom of coulie is cUy with some lignite m- ^ dications, mostly grass covered ^^ 277 7 Since the lignite is confined to the Tertiary formations, it outcrops only in the Wood Mountain plateau. The boundary of the plateau marks the line between the Tertiary and Cre- taceous formations and the limit of possible coal outcrops (see geological map. in pocket). No outcrops appear m the northeast part of the area which is occupied by the moramic boulder clay of the Coteau du Missouri. The lignite formation « 59 extends beneath the boulder clay, however, and has been en oountenrf in well-borings. The greatest nuXr " oT^^" occur a^g Big Muddy valley and in the coul^Zw h h^S^ ti^e Wood Mountain plateau in the vicinity and west of U^ Lignite has been mined for local use at a few localities The «mies or pits are m all cases located on the sides of coulees" wher^ coal outcrops occur and no development work or prospeSne hi! been done outside the coulee area. Frospecung nas f»™J'**' T" '''* T*'''^ °^ ""'"'"K is commonly used by the mgs^ta. and dig out the lignite (Plate VI). Mining by this ^ STni^ 5 .^"^^ ^ ^'^'^ ^^* •"*° ^•'^ ^^^ the thicknei Tt .-^IT J^*"^~'""' ^ «^' t^-^t the expense of removi!^ •t IS greater than the value of the coal. amoving VIi/"t-^^I1'^'-^'^ underground mining is carried on (Plate P' J?^?"^ " """^ ^°' ^ "»^i" tunnel and the lignhe is extracted by the n)om and pillar system. The scardty T^ Sc Sinra" ^"^*^-"-'-t Wgh cost of tim£7must^ taken mto account m the consideration of any mining operations. Physical and Chemical Characters. strealt wick'tn V*' "^'J' ""^^ ""'^'^ ^^'^ ''»f"'te and the lu^ h,.Jr\? ."7- ^"^^ "^ *^^ f'««'' ••K"ite has a dull lustre, but bright streaks and lenses are common. The texture fSv^ r ™"'^ ^'^ "-ecognizable in the beds. When reshly dug. the lignite is compact and breaks with a hacWy dX'tlle rr"' '""""= '"* °" ^''P-"- *° the air. a g^^^ Itt t- Tu"^ evaporates and it slacks almost to a powder sheltered in tightly pecked piles. Attempts have been made to 60 I I overcome th» difficulty and experiments on briquetting the lig- nite are being made which, if successful, will solve the problem of storing. The proximate chemical analyses of the coal show it to be a true lignite. The following analyses are from samples collected across seams where fresh openings could be found, and are thought to be represenUtive. The analyses were made in the laboratories of the Mines Branch, Department of Mines, Ottawa. Samples Nos. 1 to 9 were collected in the season of 1913, and Nos. 10 to 17 during the season of 1914 and the marked difference in the percentages of moisture is due to the more thor- ough drying of the 1913 samples. The moisture in the freshly mined lignite is very high, commonly running from 30 to 40 per cent and it is the rapid loss of this water by evaporation that causes the coal to slack on exposure to the air. The analyses show considerably smaller percentages of moisture and higher percentages of ash than are given in most of the published analyses of the I'gnite of southern Saskatchewan. The small percentages of moisture are accounted for by more thorough air drying before analysing. The percentages of ash are thought to be representative. Care was taken in sampling to get average samples across the seams from freshly opened workings, while it seems probable that many of the published analyses are from picked samples. The following summary of analyses, boiler tests, and gas- producer tests, made by the Mines Branch, Department of Mines, on lignite coal from the Souris coal-field, may be taken as repre- sentative of the lignite from the Wood Mountoin-Willowbunch area since the coal in the Souris field is from similar flat-lying Fort Union beds and the two fields are continuous with one another. On account of the lack of railway accommodation, it has not been found practicable to ship sufficient quantities of the lignite for testing from the actual area dealt with. 61 IS la !l If: I If ' 1 I 3 1 d^ SB* tfi«^ x«^ u«^ as «>«» 5' 1^ i I ^ •I ftc; M«0 ae>o 99 99 00 00 obe H*i i v 2 * g-8 H a I •at* r I IS s .2 I S 3 I I J 5 I I Ml? I J i illji • . «» •! •* CO :fiJ|hu'S ••3 :J8 I I M ll. |4 . lil in > DueriptioHS by Locality. In the following pagw thoM lignite occurrencet are briefly deKribed from which the samples were taker for the analyses given on page 61. These outcrops are represenUtive ones and it is thought that a brief description of them will give a good idea of the general conditions. The numbers used in the de- scriptions are those used in the toble of analyses, in which the localities are more exactly defined. The reader is referred to the general geological map for the location of other outcrops which are not described here. Sample No. 1 is from a small mine operated by Mr. Richard Appleby at Roanmine. Saskatchewan, on the west side of Roan Mare coulee. At this kxality 7 feet of workable lignite is over- lain by 1 foot of bituminous clay shale, which makes a good roof. Above the shale lies 3 feet of clean building sand and above the sand a succession of clays, shales, and small lignite seams. The coulee sides are quite grass covered and the seam has con- sequently not been traced, but it is thought to be of considerable extent. The mine, located as it is well up .a sitie coulde, has easy drainage and the seam is horizontal so that mining is carried on at small cost. At the time the property was visited only one tunnel had been driven. The mine is situated on one of the coulees running to Big Muddy lake and the conditions there are typical of those in the area around the lake and southward about Big Muddy post- office where several pits and tunnels have been opened by farmers who depend on the lignite for a fuel supply. Sample No. 2 is from an open pit operated by Mr. W. H. Treleaven, Waniska, Saskatchewan. The pit is in a steep- walled coul^ or amphitheatre on the east side of Bender coul6e at the foot of a bold hill called Eagle butte (Plate VI). The strata are well exposed in the neighbourhood and a section meas- ured there is given on page 58. The section shows a number of coal seams of workable size, but the demand for the product is so limited that only one seam is worked. Sample No. 3 is from an abandoned mine at Coal Mine lake, 6 miles southeast of Bengough, where a 5-foot seam has been exposed by trenching for a quarter of a mile along the east side of the lake and )uu been wnrlr^ u.. * it WH noMible to •««;!, V. *'"* *^ """« *»• visited. collected. The mine wa. IimLh^ ^ """"P'* ^""'J^ *" for the product in «m^th^ ^u ^""^ '° '«'='' "^ demand from AlK to B^S. ' * ""'' "*' """'^ '''^ "" in a district devoW o^Z ?i ' ^""^ ^*' "^ ^nd mer.. A «am from VT S f^th"k f. ^l^'"'"^ '""" * '^''^^y- .nd i. both overiain i^d underU n b^/" ^heT "''I't' l"n is gentle and open-Dit minino- K?^ » •^'. * "'°P* °^ **"« band^'^ith'dly Tbiris : t;°"r "J^ ''' "PP*' 2 ^-* » leaves. foNowed b'y fit^W-gre^jJ '''' '"^'^ *''" ^-•' day 'p^rtSjaTj'f^/ ""'-T''!,' '^"'"^ ^^ undercutting on the raiLnelower iTm' Th' '°"" -^'^ "P'*' ' '^' -^ then of a cU wh:;e'tircoai^^ rdu'mS' in^r °" ^'^ ^^^ tunne, entrance. It i, worked by t^rm ' d X sylm Sample No. 6 is from a mine operated by Mr C H W m at Hart. Saskatchewan. The lower 7 f«.t ofr J^^'"'""' foot seam is worked. The succeZn of . / T'' °^ ^" ^«- as that at the mine operatS bv Mr ^ '^*^''"" '^ '^"^ ^""^ ranife 25 (Nn ^\ , "Perawa by Mr. Person in sec. 30, to 2 portion so That fhe e a^ In^'' '' '"'"'^ ^'^^ ^^e worked the upper part was dri^„ 7?^ ^\TT ^" °'^ *"""«' °" part aTprSnt w^rkli L/£ ' J ' *''^ *"""^' °" *''«^ '"^er mine w^ vished ' ^" '*"^"" *° ^'^^ ^^ ^^e time the 66 Sample* Not. S and 6 are both from the lettm which, aa deacribcd under the icctioa on "Occurrence and Distribution," waa correlated over a distance of 78 oiilea. This seam outcrops in several places in the Fife Lake and Poplar River district, but no samples for analysis were collected from that region. An open pit mine on this seam is operated in wc. 32, tp. 1, range 28, W. 2nd mer. Sample No. 7 is from a mine at Willowbunch lake south of the town of Viceroy. A tunnel is in more than 200 feet on a seam 5 to 6 feet thick. The quality of the coal is uniform through- out. It is overlain by a bed of clay-shale which is used as a roof. The seam outcrops at several points akmg the sides of the old valley channel in which Wilk>wbunch lake lies, but owing to the grass covering no section was obtained. Sample No. 8 is from a mine operated by Mr. A. Caillet, Readlyn, Saskatchewan. The lignite is interbanded with clay as follows: CIsy Lifiiite 2 'est Clay with iiMiU pUnU 6 ' ll^iti 1 foot Cky 6 Uicbes Ufiiite 2t«« The thicknesses of the individual beds vary. The bands of day are in places one foot thick and in places pinch to nearly nothing with a corresponding increase in the thickness of the coal. Just across a coul6e to the north from this mine and at a lower level are the caved workings of another mine. Sample No. 9 is from a mine operated by Eidsness Brothers, at Gladmar, Saskatchewan (Plate VII). The seam lies to the east of the map-area but is correlated with the seam at Roan- minc (No. 1). In this case a 7-foot seam of lignite is overlain by dean building sand similar to that at Roanmine and, as at Roanmine, the upper part of the seam is a bituminous clay. TTie lower 4J feet of the seam is worked, leaving a roof of the bituminous clay to support the sand. A 2-inch clay parting 67 •bout 2 feet from the bottom ia oirlr^ ~.. • tunnel ha. been run rr^'^m^'l"""'"'; '^""•" branch tunnel.. It J. thTi^.- ,^ ninnmg from it are bytheroomi;dp^^|j;,JirTi°r '''\'^"»'>" »«> -ork ventilation (Plate Vllj '*'^* "" "^^ ""'•« P^°vide. ^..^tMr"BXrr*^'^'"-"--^-ie of f-ake of the Riv«i t7 Company near the north end At the time .he pro:;;; Z "itS' tie' 3h2 ^J~* -'; seam on the other side o "Saul tTf/'TJ'"'' ^^^"^ »»« a block which ha. »l„m^ ■ ^ ^""^ ^^"'*«* PO'^'O" « only on in thlsrum^tiirti:?.'"^" "*' '""'^^ *"^ ^"'"'^ -- -ried A 10-ton lot of lignite from this mine was t^t^ at »k r . »"' /withouJL~ , ^^ "™ » 5 '««t thick, and i. liJ* and h.1^ ^k^ LT^ "■""'."' '"""'' T«olvemite ^ in «,e „.n^i^ „ f,. ^^"Jt^l^^'lSTsZ 6 f |U fl: betB of open-cutB have been made in this district and considerable lignite dug for local use, but beds thick enough to make tunnel- ling fwofitable have not been found. Sample No. 13 is from a well in sec. 21, tp. 6, range 1, W. 3rd mer. The region north of Twelvemile lake is all grassed, and couMes are few, so that there are no outcrops. However, in digging a well, coal was found at about 10 feet from the sur- face and measured 6i feet in thickness with some small clay part- ings. Since it is situated in an area where coal is scarce die seam will probably pay to work. At the time the locality was visited, the owner of die well had started an incline from the surface to the lignite. The sample for analysis was taken from the heap of coal which had been excavated in digging the well. Sample No. 14 is from an open pit south of Willowbunch post-office. The lignite seam is 5 feet thick and the over- burden at the point where the seam is worked, is approximately 15 feet. This consists of banded sand and clay with minute seams of lignite. The slope of the coulte is small and it will be possible to work the seam over a considerable area by stripping and the open pit method. This is the only workable seam found in the mine townships comprised by tps. 1 to 3 and ranges 1 to 3, W. 3rd mer., and this district is so far from any railway that it is difficult to obtain other fuel. It is worked for local use by the farmers of the district. Sample No. IS is from a 2-foot lignite seam in sec. 1, tp. 6, range 2, W. 3rd mer. This seam is representative of a number of outcrops along the coultes runuing to Twelvemile lake. There are no big pits nor mines in this neighbourhood, but numerous small pits have been opened along the coulees from which the farmers have dug out a few wagon-loads of coal. Sample No. 16 is from a mine operated by Mr. Sturgeon in sec. 10, tp. 4, range 6, W. 3rd mer. A tunnel has been driven 150 feet and is being worked by the room and pillar system. The lignite seam is 5 to 6 feet thick and has a clay parting IJ feet from the bottom. This working is near the northern bound- ary of the coal formation and is favourably situated for supplying lignite to the farming country north of it. on th«e seanu are mostly s.S, ^d rjopen n^ "'^^T pits are opened on outcroDs to tho «^u ^ ^ Similsu of the plateau, and th^ZTt tp^^^^^^'^T'^'l^ ''°^ coal which cai. be easily mhlrf »»'f«^"'ar«y well supplied with are worked by an open pit in sec. 2. rpTSw'i w°°i^^ ""' 10. W. 3rd men. but the overlyine clav haH .TJ •' ^' ' ""^e of visiting and the coal couW not L t JStl ? '" V '^' ''""' western edge of the map-ar^ therTZ few TT" """^ *° *''* covers the surface every^erTand L o i T'^^' ^^^ of the mines in the same (r,^^*- ■ "°^ °y the production CLAY. Occurrence and Distribution. (... ^'^^-.'^'^y-'hales. shales, and sands suitable for the „. The dark grey clay-shales of the Pieire fnrmo*- .d. .d,p«d ,o, brick.„aki„, a. *ev ^'^S/^^X'S "*" 70 .^1 wet state and dry slowly with cracking, warping, and excessive shrinkage. The Fox Hills being a sandstone formation need not be considered. The clays and shales of the Lance formation were not sampled, since the area in which they occur is small and lies far from a railway. Most of the workable clays in the area are found in the Fort Union formation. They occur in the flat-lying beds of this for- mation interbedded with sands and lignites and outcrop on the sides of coulees and old river channek (Plate I). Their distribu- tion is the same as that of the lignite and is roughly confined to the area of the Wood Mountain plateau. The close association of the clays and lignite is very for- tunate since the lignite forms the only fuel supply of the area which can be used to bum the clays. In places, the two can be mined together and where the working of the coal or the clay separately mighi not be profitable, the combined working of the two is to be considered. Samples of clay were collected from the most promising beds at various localities and sent to J. Keele of the Geological Survey, for physical tests. The results show that while some of the clays have serious defects, most of them are suitable for the manufacture of common bricK, many are semi-refractory, and some may be classed as fireclays. Of the two divisions of the Fort Union, it may be said that the lower white beds supply the more refractory clays. The yellow clays of the upper division make good ordinary brick and the white clays are high grade. They are of the stoneware tj pe, used for pottery, stoneware, or sewer-pipe. A large proportion of the strata consists of clay and it has not been possible to test a sufficient number of samples to convey a right conception of their real importance. This is especially true of the more refractory clays. Fireclays are known and worked in the same formation in North Dakota and in the Dirt Hills area south of Moosejaw, Saskatchewan, where the Saskat- chewan Clay Products Company, Limited, have recently opened a plaint. 71 Physical Tests of the Clays. "Summary of tests an^^n ' ^l"* ""^ ^^■°" ^" f«ge 82. by Mr. Lie/ The ctyHre .r.T'^^V'^^"'' "^^ -^«en laboratory number l£ TeiS S vT^"^ ^^'^ ^"^ bers and the location of e^h ^"^^ ^''^^ "«""- l*^ of Clays Tested. •«-f did not have laboratory number aMigned. 22 « 22 « 28 2nd 4 - 3rd 3 « 5 « 8 m 72 i *. Lab. No. 170. Sample is from a 2-foot seam of greyish- white clay shale which outcrops in a coul6e at Brooking. When tempered with 21 per cent of water, this clay forms a very plastic good working body. Its drying shrinkage is 5 per cent and it will probably dry intact when made into full-sized wares. This clay bums to a cream-coloured body at all temperatures up to cone 5 (1230" C), nnd the body remains porous and open, be- having so far like a fireclay. The body is grey in colour and vitrified at coae 10 (1330° C), but numerous dark, fused spots appear on the surfaces. It fuses at cone 20 (1530° C), so that it is not a fireclay [fireclay is required to stand up to cone 27 (1670° C.)]. Although this is nota refractory material it is nevertheless a valuable, high grade clay. It can be used for a high class face brick, and, if mixed with good red-burning clay, for sewer-pipe and fireproofing. Lab. No. 171. Sample is from a 4-foot bed of hard, grey clay shalti lying above a 3-foot seam near Big Muddy post-office. The material requires 31 per cent of water for tempering and is very plastic, smooth, and sticky. Its drying shrinkage is 8 per cent. The small test pieces did not crack, but it is probable that full-sized bricks made from it would check in drying. It bums to a light red colour at cone 06, the fire shrinkage is 1 per cent, and the absorption is rather high. It fuses to a slag at cone 3. The drying qualities of this clay should be tested on a large scale. If it dries intact it might be used fcr common brick, but the high shrinkage would have to be reduced by the addition of sand. Lab. No. 172. Sample is from a grey-white gritty clay that outcrops for several miles along Big Muddy valley in a bed that is in places over 20 feet thick. The bed is easily recognized on account of its being much lighter in colour than any other bed in the vicinity. It is one of the white clays from the lower division of the Fort Union beds. It requires 24 per cent of water for tempering and is very plastic, stiff, and pasty in the wet state. It dries slowly and exudes soluble salts. The test pieces did not crack in drying jmd the shrinkage was 7 per cent. This clay burns to a pink colour at all temperatures up to cone 5 (1230°C.). The body is vitrified, 7J fireclay, suitable for hTgh d^^^ t ^"-'•e^'-actory or bastard •proofing. A sample, dfy p e^TricM:^• Tr^J^ "'* '^"■ at cone 03 and its ai;«rption ^12 " ^ " f ^"^ '" ~'°"^ '"far r^^/i^'^^^i^^^^^^^^ •^'"^"^ occurring in a /(ifoot'SS a W ^ ' 'i^'* ^^"""'^^^ ^''^^ <='^y few clay^ in the rerion whicS^! "^^ ™' '« °"« °^ ^he requires 25 per cenfof ^atej for te "^"' ""'^ «'"^*"*- ^^ but rather flabby, o JL to ! s 1 T""* ^"^ '« ^^'^'^ P"a«tic. drying with ardSTelt *^Thrd5rr- l^-"^^^^-* cent. It bums to a norn„c i 7^^ shrinkage is 5-5 per 06. and fuses to 1 sL'Tri? 5 "'I; " "''"°" «"°"'- -* <=-« factu^of common buli^^g Wck " "'*""^ '°^ ^''^ '"-'"- lying^W acL^Jrl^hk kT ' ^"'"^ «">'■ '^y ^l^Ie amount of 44 peTce^^of w,^^ f '"^"'"^ '** extraordinary Plastic, stiff. pS^y r w^ir i ^rCTfo w^^^^ Jnnkage ,s 10 per cent, which is Z^t 7^ '''^'"^ body, hard and dense at cone 06 ^f hT 1 I -^"^ *° * ""^ cent. This clay has seveTseHoultf:: s" ifc^T "' ' ^' shnnkage, cracking in dmne anH h.A ,' '"'''**^ excewive .%r™TJt H~T "-^^^^^ therefore, not a>n^de~5 s^i^M / ""^'' treatment. It is. v'r Lab. No. 176 Sa^oIeTsfr '°'; ,7""'"'^*"""^ P"^-- clay shale exposed alonT^h^r "^^ ^^'L^' ^ °^ ^V' ^'^^y. Verwood. wTeT^temZeJ lhh"L " '^'"''^ '^""^y- ^^^ of forms a highly nlastir^Wff ^ ^ ^' **"* °^ ■'^ater this clay hard to work^ 'T is ^ fr" ''"'^ "T "'"■*^'' '^ -'-d'"^'' contains consideLVi ^l^aTrtter'lt'""^'.^"' f'^"^'' dn..ng that even the small test pi^ co Ji n^tt I^^Jj 74 in the roora-traipermtufe of 65"?. It bums to a hard, red body at cone 06 and fuwa at com 5. It u tndcM for the manufacture of day products. Lab. No. 1 76 B. Sample ia from a grey clay riiale containing bands of day-ironMone concretiona in a 43-foot bed overlying the bed repreaented by No. 172. This material makes a stiff, sticky paste when tempered with 30 per cent of water. The test pieces cracked so badly in drying that they could not be tested further. The clay appears to be useless in the raw state, but might be rendered workable by the preheating treatment if the greater expenditure were warranted by economic conditions. The addition of sand will not overcome the defects of this clay. Lab. No. 176 A. Sample is from a grey sandy clay which occurs in a 34-foot bed overlying Nos. 172 and 176B. When miaed with 30 per cent of water it becomes fairly plastic and radier stidcy, but the small test pieces moulded from it cracked in l: SOIL. The soil of the Wood Mountain-Willowbunch area is largely composed of glacial deposits. As previously pointed out boulder clay mantles almost the entire surface of the area. It is very deep in the region of the Coteau du Missouri but thins out to the west and is in many places not more than one foot thick. The boulder clay is mixed with residual soil from the underlying rocks and carbonaceous matter from the decomposition of plants. The result is a humus which is very fertile. There are flat areas, such as that about the town of Bengough, in which the soil is a silt, deposited doubtless in lakes in front of the retreating continental glacier. In places also glacial sands or gravels form the bulk of the soil. The bottoms of Big Muddy and Frenchman River valleys and of some of the larger coulees are filled with alluvium of recent origin. This soil is in places very fertile but a large part of the bottoms is near the level of the saline lakes and is saturated with saline water. The vegetation is scanty in such places and in the hot summers the soil dries and cracks. There is very little purely residual soil in the area. In areas such as the badlands along Rock creek, and the bluffs along coul^ and old valleys, where there is no capping of boulder clay, the slopes are so steep that the rock is carried away before it, weathers, and decomposes enough to make soil. In summation then it may be said that the area is well provided with fertile soil. As pointed out in the section on di- 85 mate and agriculture the region it an excellent grazing dibtrict and the yield of grains is above the average for the prairies. The precipitation is, however, only about 14 inches per year so that it requires careful farming « ith the practice of dry fanning methods to get the best returns from the soil. SURFACE AND UNDERGROUND WATER. The supply of running water in the area is small, much of the area has interior basin drainage and the streams are short and intermittent. Frenchman river is a through-flowing stream and the headwaters of Wood river flowing north from Wood Mountain plateau contain fresh running water, also some of the coulees draining south to the Missouri contain water. But over most of the area there is no run off. The precipitation soaks into the soil and underlying rocks. There are, however, many small lakes and sloughs which draw a supply of water from t'le soil soakage. These are very abundant in the area of the Coteau du Missouri. A second class of lakes are those which lie along the old valley bottoms, including Willowbunch, Twelvemile, and Big Muddy lakes. These are so saline that their water is not potable and is littie used even for stock. The only other supply of surface water comes from springs and may be classed with the underground water. Springs are numerous at the heads of coulees and along the sides of the abandoned valleys. The water from the springs is excellent for drinking. Most of it soaks into the alluvium in the valley bottoms but some finds its way to the running streams. On account of the recent settlement of the area, the under- ground water-supply has not been thoroughly prospected since most of the farmers have found water in shallow wells. The water is for the most part good, but in cases very hard and in some cases quite alkaline. Many of the farmers depend on springs for a supply of water and some have dug wells close to lakes or sloughs in order to utilize the seepage from them. In these cases, however, a water-supply could be had on higher ground, away from the lakes and sloughs, by digging deeper wells. Wells sunk in the superficial deposits are fairly sure of 86 a good water^upply, but in many places the welk an. !„ ♦!.- mideriying Tertiary and Cretac^u' roclu w^^' fh" water welte have been sunk in the area and itood wati^r Ka. :„ . caje. been obtained, although a we.. o?°S?is"S 'rWrZi* has a flow of strong.y alkaline water of a brownish SZf Th^ are a few .oca.ities where shallow wells haveTailed to su^ Sn n 'S'"' """""^ °^ '^^'"■' ''"* •" ^hese cases dip ^rin« W.11 probably g.ve a good supply, because the gent.rL^3 slope of the strata over the whole area is favrurIbleTor?ie catching and storing of a supply. *"* 1--1 .1 re in the le water ' tubular in most Verwood colour. I to sup- ' borings astward for the 87 Plate II. A. Plateau topography, Wood Mountain plateau. B. Butte, Fort Union formation. Big Muddy valley. If in 'I 1 J -^1 Plats III. Natural br -e in Fort Union clay. ■•-« J^l I i ! 6 ; 91 PlATK IV. Elongated «nd.tone concretion left on the surface by the weathering away of the iurrounding land. Fort Union formation. m 93 Plate V. Hoodoo of concretionary sandstone. Fort Union formati, \ 'V 1*4 95 Plate VI. Mine at Waniska. Sask., illustrating ti,e open-pit method of mining. ( ■ i ; f ' 'i . i 97 < 99 INDEX. A. Acknowledgmentf '*''■ AsawU lake , * Acriculture , " Alberta CUy Products Company "'• il Analyiei of lignite i? ^ •_ • %uri*coal *} Appleby, Richanl g Area '■'..'■'.. '■'.'.'.'.'.'.:'.'.::\::'.'.:: ^ B. Badlandi, Rock creek «» lu „ " topograpLy ""• 5* Bell, Robertrr.. . .. 22 Belle Fourche ouadrangle. South Dakota « '.J Belly River series H Bender coulfe r; Big fSuddy laici; ■.■.■.'.■.■.■.■.■.■.■;.■.';.■ : ?!• f* " « post-office 23,85 Blsn«rckaurdl^gie.::::::;::; i^K*3:54:s9r2.H Blackfoot Indians 'S Blood. Mr y.'. '.'.'. '.'.'.]". J Boundary Commission ,c ; Brick ; ji ,,M Brooking "'"•!' Bungard, Mr ■■..■.. .\\ .......[...[.]] 57 Caillet, A ^ „ Calhoun, F. H. H '.'.'.'..'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'. ft Cannonball marine member tb J« Ceratops beds ^"^ ti Chalmers, R ,[,', •** Chaplin lake '.'..[ iiW on <« Clay, occurrence and dbtribution »•», i/, ^u, m • products .• • • 2; Clays ; ■ ; • ; 28 * physical tests of jf « refractory '.'['.[['.[[[[". 44 7A summary of tests and general remarks on 'a* tested, list of S? Climate ij Clinkers ".'". 24 Coal : ; ; ; ■ « " analyses .....y. ....].....[[. gt " descriptions by locality 2J " Mine lake ^ 2J fining ::::::::::::::;::: ^•li occurrence and distribution il ' physical and chemical characters 59 r 100 PAOB Cod, •eetion of ». $• • Sourk, boUw tMt of * * gu producer twu of Commtrctol poMibUitiM CoBoctioiw day-UniMtOM ConduiU. 62 63 3 S2 42 77 CoMumen CmJ Compuy ^^'i\ Convtnt county, Wyoming 34 Cope, P ro t eno r 37 CouMe topography « Coultet, origin of »• Cowie, Iiuc I Cretaeeoua 8, U, 26, 52 Cttrtcr maiMcre •• 3 CyprcHhiUa 16,31,33 ^ • platwu 1* a D.i«on,G.M 6, «. 9, 22, 31. 34, 45. 50 Dowting. D. B 9, 34, 46 Drainage, interior basin JJ Duckhilb 4 Dumont. Gabriel 5 :iih Eatt End village '8, 81 EddyMde « EidtncM Brothen. 66 ElU, R. W ' F. Field work. Fife lake. 1 : 24, 66 Firebrick "^^ Fireclay. *• ™'J,''I?' 25 Fireproofing , 72. 73. 77 Fisher. George 5 Fort Union formation 26. 34, 36, 38, 42. 52. 56. 70. 81 • ■ foMilt 45 FoMila, Fort Union 45 • FoxHilli 32 • Pierre 32 • vertebrate 37 Fox HilU foMib ii • Vo- « 22 • • sandstone 28.38.52,69 Frank, Mr •.• • .- 5! Frenchman river 17. 27. 47, 50, 54. 77. 85 Geotcgy. descriptive 26 • economic 56 Gladmar 66 Glass 84 101 Gnvri »*« Gmt PbUat S <^y»»«"» ::::::::;:::::::: :::: 43.52 u. hS*?;;;:;:::;::;;-:-:: « Hatdwr.J.D S HayMMdowcrwk i! .."! ii: ^i: i! ! i! ! I.":: 24. 67 Htydcn Mirvcy ' i a Hector, J., piloflrt g Hliid.H.Y . S Hktwy "ii;;"!!!!;;::: ":::;;::::::::::::: 4 Hoodoo-lSitforiw. '. ...... 42 Indiant ' . Ironstone ^ JS^Sl^:::::::::::::::::::::!^:::::::::::::::::::::'^'^:'"''^ ISiilrvey;.:.;;;:::::::::::;::;: 2.9.70.71 Knowlton,F. H '.'..'.'.'.'.'.'.'..'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.[.'.'. 33 L. UteoftheRlreri 23.67.74 Lambe ,■ L.mIJ.'.'.I'.'.'.'.W'.'.'.'.'.'.'.]'.]'.'.' ". " r-naBJonnatkm '.'. .'.26,'33,"52,' 56, 70 UB^.*j.'i." ■.■.■..■.■.■.■.■::: :;:;:::;::: "• ^\^ L«Ston. Mr ''I Leonard, A. G 45 L^E/R.;::::::;:::::::-: ::.:::;::::34;3s;-3«; 43.56 Location 1 Lower Fort Union •.■■■■■■..\..... ......[........'..'..'. 34 M. McConnell, R. G o IS 21 %i t7 u m Mclnne.. W .................■..■.■.■.■.'.■. ! 47 Manitoba escarpment 13 Mines Branch 2 MiMouri coteau .■.■.■.■■.■.■.■.■■.■.■.■.■ .li.' WJ is.is,' 54, 85 ■ . topography of 21 nver " ' 19 SO MonUnasUge ' 52 Mooaejaw ". \ ..........[.].......[ .[.[",[ 7 N. NbdvlM « O. Oli|OC*M..' M P. PkUay Brook 65 Pklwmtologiaa SodMy 33 PalliMr npMiitkM • Pawuk hfluT 13 PmbUmUU* 13 Pmoii.OliJ.H «S PivnloriMtioii 26, 38. S2. W, 81 • (oMib 32 Pkm-FosHOk . 26 Plains topomphy i' PlatMU ^ IS Ptateaut ^, 12 PIciatootM MM 47, 94 PUooene S3 Poplar River dirtrict 66 Porcupine creek 36, 38 • hill* 13 Pottery 70 Pretty Valley port-office 65 Previmu work 8 S'AnieUe valley 20 atemary 26, 46, 54 R. Railways 3,7 Ranching 3 Readlvn 66 Rebel'ioK of 1885 7 Recent deposits 49,55 Riding hUlT 13 Rie8,H 9 Roan Mare coulie 64 Roanmine 64 Rock creek 22, 31, 35, 84 Royal North West Mounted Police 6 S. Sand 83 Saskatchewan Clay Pruducta Company 70 • riviJ r: 12,48 Section, Big Muddy lake 44 • coal 66 • rock and coal 58 Selenite 36, 43 Selwyn, A. R. C 9 Sewer-pipe 70,72,73,75,76.77 Sioux Indians 5 IM Sitting Bull '*•■ sou.7 :: * Somber b*h •* SjWti' «•*• IISlKhyV.:;::::;;;;: :.:::::::::::7o.-7« w Structural clay produet*, vitriM 7. ii Structure ' iX Sturgeon, Mr 5? Supei^ial depodtt J| T. Table of fomwtioiM * «j ^ local " Topographical Surveyi Branch , Trader's Road * Traniportation "•? Trclcaven, W. H J Turtle mountain ?J Twelvemile lake ji "lo ' to" »» «« Tyrreli, J. B <4, 30, 39, 77. M Valleyt ^^ „ * abandoned river iz Verwood ,-15 VIkeri, Mr ■^^■'■'■'.'.'.'.'.I'.'.'.'.'.'M'.'.'.'.'.'.]'.'.]: ' Ij Waldon,C.H ^' „ Waniika « Water, lurface and underground 25 Wheeler lurvey rX Whitecap. . . . : JO Willowbunch lake ii' kk' Ta ■< Wood Mountain plateau ..._... 14. J5V27.' 29, js! aV, 43,'4«; 53." 58, To'. 76! « "^ :::::::::;::::::::::i7,is ifr PUBLICATIONS OF THB GEOLOGICAL rjRVIY. Tl'e & ^logical Survey waa esUbtisbed in 1842 and "Reporta of Progreia" ware iaaued, generally in annual volumea, from that date to 1885, the firat report being that for the year 1843 pub- liihed in 1845. Beginning with the year 1885, "Annual Reporta" (new teriea) were published in volumes until 1905, the last being Vol. XVI, 1904. Many of the individual reporta and maps pub- lished before 1905 were issued separately and from 1905 to the present, all have been published as separates and no annual volume has been issued. Since 1910, the reporta have been issued aa Memoirs and Museum Bulletins, each subdivided mto series, thus:— Memoir 41, GeohgUol Series 3S. Memoir 54, Biolotieal Series 2. Museum Bulletin 5, Geological Series 21. Museum Bulletin 6, Antkropoloiical Series 3. In addition to the publications specified above, a Sumn a y Report is issued annually; and miscellaneous publirationa of various kinds including Reporta of Ex|dorations, Guide Books, etc., have been issued from time to time. f il Mbmoib 1. MmoiK 2. Mbmoib 3. Mbmoib 4. Mbmoib 5. Mbmoib 6. Mbmoib 7. Mbmoib 8. Mbmoib 9. Mbmoib 10. Mbmoib 11. Mbmoib 12. Mbmoib 13. Mbmoib 14. Mbmoib IS. Mbmoib 16. Mbmoib 17. Mbmoib 18. Mbmoib 19. Mbmoib 20. PttbUcatkms lamied 191t-1915 Incliulre. MEMOIRS. ^^&^§f^J-^ Geol««r«jidoredepodt«ofHedIeymiiiiiif dirtrict, Brituh Columbia, 1910— by Charlct CamidL GMfogieal Strut 3. Paheoniadd fidiea from the Albert shalea of New Bnmawick, 1910— by Lawrence M. Lambe. CMJogteal Stritsr. Geolofjcal recomiaiannce along the Une of ^S^. u^JS* JSJUf*"*"*™**' railway in wcMem Quebec, 1911— by W. J. Wtlaon. GMfogkal Semt 4. Preliminary memoir on the Lewea and Ncrdenakiftld Rivera coal diMrict, Yukon Territory, 1910— by D. D. Caimes. (kdoticaiSeriu 5. GeoloKy of the Haliburton and Bancroft ¥!?••. ?^JIf*°?* *•' Ontario, 1910— by Frank D. Adams and Alfred E. Bartow. ^*f?P*^ ^^.Jf- S^"^?^ St. Bruno mountain. Province of Quebec. 1910— by John A. Drewer. GMtofjea/ Stries 8. The Edmonton coal field. Alberta, 1911— by D. B. Dowline. CWo|tfai Series 9. Bighorn coal basin, Alberta, 1911— by G. S. Malloch. (helctiaU Series 10. An instrumental survey of the shof«- unes of the extinct lakes Algonquin and NipissinK in south- western Ontario, 1911— by J. W. Goldthwait. Topopapkital Series 1. Triangulation and spirit levelling of Vancouver island, B.C., 1909, issued 1910— by R. K. Chapman. Cecloriccl Series 11. Insects from the Tertiary lake deposita of the southern interior of British Columbia, collected by ??'■• .'r?'^"'* ^*- Lambe, in 1906, issued 1911— by Anton HandluKh. ^^tifal , Series 14. Southern Vancouver island, 1912— by Charles H. Clapp. BMmpcal Series 1. New species of shells collected by Mr. John Macoun at Barkley sound, Vancouver island. British Columba, 1911— by William H. Dall and Paul Bartsch. Gviptical Series 12. On a Trenton Echinoderm fauna at Kirkfietd, Ontario, 1911— by Frank Springer. Ceaht^ Series 13. The clay and shale deposita of Nova Scotia and portions of New Brunswick, 1911— by Heinrich Ries assisted by Joseph Keele. Ceolopcal Series 28. Geology and economic resources of the Larder Lake district, Ont., and adjoining portions of Pontiac county. Que., 1913— by Morley E. Wilson. Geohrical Series 19. Bathurat district, New Brunswick. 1913— by G. A. Young. Geohtical Series 26. Geology of Mother Lode and Sunset mines, Boundary district, B.C., 1914— by O. E. LeRoy. Geohrical Series 41. Gold fields of Nova Scotia, 1914— by W, Malcolm. Mmon 31. Mmou 23. MBMon 23. Mkmoib 24. Mbmoib 25. Mkmoik 26. Mbmou 27. Mbmou 28. Mbmoik 29. Mbmoir 30. Mbmoik 31. Mbmoib 32. Mbmoib 33. Mbmoib 34. Mbmoib 35. Mbmoib 36. Mbmoib 37. Mbmoib 38. Mbmoib 39. Mbmoib 40. Mbmoib 41. Mbmoib 42. Mbmoib 43. Mbmoib 44. Mbmoib 45. ^S^''ia^Eri9r:i77S iS^SSlrilitete:***" ''""'*°^ ""-'^ H^nrich RiS GW« ConSon appointed 1912. ^ mountain. Frank. Alberta. WI^ImuS 'ti^ir??- '^*G5?'««y«>'Steeprocklake.Ontario- by Andrew C. Lawwn. Notes on foidb from limestoM^f ^«9S:!Sy1XfiUiI]SrM'S^.'*' '^«^° -" ^''-«" '^9lS^y-^. ^^dnT""*"" *«"«• y"'«>» Territory. G«jto|»eai Smw 25. Portion, of Portland Canal and Skeena y&.f^^V,:^C^^ «' ^'nr.nda Minin, ^ftr^.'lEauSr' ^^"^ "^ ".uthwetem Ontario. *tSSS1,»^i^'-i '***=*i'"'*^« «'""? the National Tranjwntonental railway in aouthem Quebec, 1913-John G«oto|»ea/ Serns 33. Geotegy of the Victoria and Saanich map^area^ Vancouver iriand. B.C.. 1914-by C. H ClaM ^^feo. "&« ''"^"* *•' ^*'^ *•'"'*«• BC-' "1^ ^^mt^.t^tli- ^^fS^ S'.*^ North American Cor- ffiSiid AwJ^raj: '*""''' '^^ » •"«• "• '"^"y '^r^by^i'c.S*wS?='"^ '"'-^ °' '^'"^ ^'«. ^«ii?i?e^Bru^;iST9l!i^rMSi'?"|;™- «- ^nt^opchticat^Smes 1. The doubIe^'^A!e^Ii\^'?„^orth- Miitern Alnnkian art. 1914-by Frank G. SmS Girotorw"'. -Sw^f* ^tf. St. Hilaire (Beloeil) wd Roucemont mountain.. Quebec. 1914-by J. J. O'Neill. "^""""nont ^W9ltXTKSSi'' '"'* ••"" ''"^'* »' '^^ «-- r Mbwhs 46. Mbmoib 47. MBMon 48. M»io» 49. Mbmoib SO. Mbmoib 51. Mbmoib 52. Mbmoib 53. Mbmoib 54. Mbmoib 55. Mbmoib 56. Mbmoib 57. Mbmoib 58. Mbmoib 59. Mbmmb 60. Mbmoib 61. Mbmoib 62. Mbmoib 63. Mbmoib 64. Mbmoib 65. Mbmoib 66. Mbmoib 67. Mbmoib 68. Mbmoib 69. Mbmoib 70 Mbmoib 71 and niMective pronomind prelim. 1915— by CM. BarbMU. GtoMtai S$tus 39. CUy and tlule depMitt of the western pravinoee, Part III, 1914— by Heinrich Rie«. Anikropeloveal S$rUs 2. Some myth* and talw of the Ojibwa of •outbeMtem Ontario. 1914— by Paul R*gin. AnthropolotUal Stries 4. Malecite Ulea, 1914-by W. H. G^JStSS'sm** St. Upper White River dirtrict. Yukon. 1915 — by D. D. Caimea. ... . Ctolotical Sm$s 43. Geology of the Naoainx) map-area. 1914— by C. H. Clapp. Ctttotiaa S«rMS 42. GeokmoJ notMto ^''V^y"^ tilSbftp River gaa and oil field, Alberta, 1914— by D. B. e^MSf'Series 44. Coal fielda of Manitoba. Saakatcbewan. Alberta, and eaatem Britiih Columbia (reviied edition), 1914— by D. B. Dowling. .... j BMotical Siries 2. AnnoUted lirt of flowering planta and fernt of Point Fci-*. Ont.. and neighbouring districts, 1914— Gttiotieal'Strus'46. Geology of Field map-area. Alberta and British Columbia, 1914— by John A. Allan. . (logical Seritt 56. Gcok>gy of Franklin nuwng camp. O.^-, 1915— by Chas. W. Drysdale. Ceoloeical Seriet 50. Corundum, its occurrence, distribution. eroloitation. and u8«ss.l915-;-by A. E. Barlow. GeOopcal Series 4S. Texada island. 1915— by R. G. McCon- CMlo'tical Series 55. Coal fields and coal resources of Canada, 1915— by D. B. Dowling. „., u Cechtical Series 47. Ansaig-Antigonish distnct, 1915— by Geoiotical Series 45. Moose Mountain district, southern Alfalru (second edition) 1914-by D. D. Caimes. . Anthropolotical Series 5. Abnormal types of speech in Nootka, 1915— by E. Sapir. _ Anthropolopcal Series 6. Noun reduplication wComor. a Salishlanguage of Vancouver island, 1915— by E. ^pir. Geotorical Series 52. Preliminary report on the clay and shale deceits of the Province of Qwbec. 1915-by J- Kasle^^ Geoiotical Series 53. Clay and shale deposits of the western provinces. Part IV, 19lS-by H Ries. Geolorical Series 54. Clay and shale deposits of the western provinces. Part V. 1915— by J. Keele. GSffneaTssftM 49. The Yukon-Alaska Boundary between pSSipine and Yukon rivers. 1915-by D. D. Caimes. Geoiotical Series 59. A geological jj«>?"»«*»"'*-^';^ Golden and Kamtoops. B.C.. along the Une of the Canadian Pacific railway. 1915— by R. A. Daly. . . ^ ^ , . . ,„, e_ (Mo^al Series 57. Coal fields of British Columbia. 1915- AnUiroP'->«« "til "St kaming Algonquin and Timagami Ojibwa, 1915— by F. O. Speck. MlMon 72. Gtolotieal S*rU$ 60, The artesian wellt of Montreal, 191S— by C. L. Gumming. Memou 73. Gtmticai Striei 58. The Pleittocene and Recent depotiti of the, island of Montreal, 1915— by J. Sunsfield. Memoib 71. (kelopeal S4ruM 61. A list of Canadian mineral occurrences. 1915— by R. A. A. Johnston. Mkmoii 75. Antkropoutfcal Series 10. Decorative art of Indian tribes of Connecticut, 1915— by Frank G. Speck. MsMOn 76. Geototiciil Series 62. Geotogy of the Cranbrook map-area. 1915— by S. J. Schofield. Mkmou 77. Geological Series 64. Geology and ore deposits of Rossland, B.C.. 1915— by C. W. Drysdale. Mkmoir 78. Geolopcal Series 66. Wabana iron ore of Newfoundland, 1915 — by A. O. Haves. Mbmoib 79. CoMopcal Senes 65. Ore deposiu of the Beaverdell map-area, 1915— by L. Reinecke. Memoib 80. Anthfopoloiieal Series 11. Huron and Wyandot mythology, 1915— by C. M. Barbeau. Memoir 81. Geolopeal Series 67. Oil and gas fields c' Ontario and Quebec, 1915— by Wyatt Malcolm. Mbv II 82. Geological Series 69. Rainv River district, Ontario. Surficial geofogy and soib, 1915 — by W. A. Johnston. MUSEUM BULLETINS. The Museum Bulletins, published by the v^eological Survey, are num- bered consecutively and are given a series number in addition, thus: Geological Series No. 1, 2, 3, etc.; Biological Series No. 1, 2, 3, etc.; Anthropological Series No. 1, 2, 3, etc. In the case of Bulletins 1 and 2, which contain articles on various subjects, each article has been assigned a separate series number. The first Bulletin was entitled Victoria Memorial Museum BuUeHn; subsequent issues have been called Museum Bulletins. Mus. Bull. 1. Geoloncal Series 1. The Trenton crinoid, Ottawacrinus. {Issued 1913). W. R. Billings— by F. A. Bather. Geolotical Series 2. Note on Merocrinus, Walcott — by F. A. Bather. Geological Series 3. The occurrence of Helodont teeth at Roche Miette and vicinity. Alberta — by L. M. Lambe. Geoloncal Series 4. Notes on Cydocystoides — hy P. £. Raymond. Geological Series 5. Notes on some new and oki Trilobites in the Victoria Memorial Museum — by P. E. Raymond. Geolopcal Series 6. Description of some new Asaphidae-— by P. E. Raymond. Gedorical Series 7. Two new species of Tetradium— by P. E. Raymond. Ce<4ogical Series 8. Revisbn of the species which have been referred to the genus Bathyurus (preliminary report) — by P. E. Raymond. Geoloiical Series 9. A new Bracbbpod from the base of the Utica— by A. E. Wilson. Geological Series 10. A new genus of dicotyledonous plant from the Tertiary of Kettle river, British Columbia— by W. J. Wilson. Geological Series 11. A new species of Lepidostrobus — by W. J. Witaon. (Mttkal S*riu It. Prchnhe from AdMM Mund. Adminhy inlet, BdBn bknd, FranUin— by R. A. A. JohnMon. Biahticai Striu 1. Th* maiiM ligut of Vancouver Uand— By F. S. CoUlnt. . . . . , BioletkolSmnZ. New tpedei of rooHiMla from the AtlMitk and Fwific ooarta of Canada— by W. H. DaU and P. Bartach. BMetical StfUt 3. Hydroidt from Vancouver idand and Nova Scotia— by C. McLean Fraaer. AMthropoletiealSeritsl. The archeology of Blandfotd town- ■htp, Oxford county, Ontario— by W. J. Wintember«. Mui. Bull. 2. (Mopcal Serits 13. The origin of granite (micropegmatlta) (iMued 1914). in the Purcelt lilla— by S. J. Scbofield. (kologieal 5Mm 14. Columnar structure in hmettone— by E.M. Kindle. Gtolo^eal S*rUt IS. Supposed evidence* of tubndence of tM coaat of New Bruiuwick within modem time— by J. W. Goldthwait. «... . < Ctelopcal Siriu 16. The Pre-Cambrian (Beltian) rocka of ■outheaitem British Columbia and their correlation by S.J. SchofieH. . e . u Geologieal Series 17. Early Cambrian stratigiaphy m the North American Cordillera, with discussion of Albertella and related faunas— by L. D. Burling. , . CeoloticcU Series 18. A preliminary study of the variations of the plications of Parastrophia hemiplicata. Hail- by A. E. Wilson. , , . Anthropological Series 2. Some aspecU of puberty fasting among the Oiibwa — by Paul Radin. Mus. Bull. 3. Geolorieal Series 19. The Anticosti Island faunas, 1914— by W. H. Twenhofd. _ ,_ . „ Mus. Bull. 4. Ceolotical Series 20. TheCrowsnestvolcamcs, 1914— byj. D. MacKenzie. , . Mus. Bull. 5 Ceolotical Series 21. A Beatricea-like organism from the middle Ordovician, 1914— by P. E. Raymond. Mus. Bull. 6. Anikropolopcal Series 3. Prehistoric and present commerce among the Arctic Coast Eskimo, 1915— by V. Stefansson. Mus. Bull, 7. Biolofical Series 4. A new species of Dendragapus (Dendra- gapus Obacurus Flemingi) from southern Yukon Terri- tory, 1914— by P. A. Tavemer. . Mus. Bull. 8. Getiogical Series 22. The Huronian formations of Timiskam- ing region, Canada, 1914— by W. H. Collins. Mus. Bull. 9. Antkropolotical Series 4. The Glenoid Fossa m the skull of the Esldmo. 1915— by F. H. S. Knowles. Mus. Bull. 10. Anthropolopcal Series 5. The social orpanization of t^ Winnetngo Indians, an interpretation, 1915 — by P. 7(adin. Mus. Bull. 11. Ceolotical Series 23. Physiography of the Beaverdell map- area and the southern part of the Interior plateaus of British Columbia, 1915— by L. Reinecke. Mus. Bull. 12. Ceolotical Series 24. On Eoceratops Canadensis, gen. npv., with remarks on other nnera of Cretaceous homed dino- saurs, 1915— by L. M.Lambe. Mus. Bull. 13. Biolotical Series 5. The double-crested Cormorant (Phala- ancorax Auritus) and its relation to the salmon industries on the Gulf of St. Uwrence, 1915— by P. A. Taverow. Mus. Bull. 14. Ceolotical Series 25. The occurrence of glacial drift on the Magdalen islands, 1915— by J. W. Goldthwait. Mds. Boll. 15. Mm. Bull. 16. Met. Bull. 17. Mut. Bull. 18. Mui. Bull. 19. Mua. Bull. 20. Mus. Bull. 21. U;g«c. valley,. ,91S-by E. M. Wadfc'Sd'L! D.' GMto««,; Seri4s 30. fiote. on thTieotew mT^i.^ M. Kindle. ■ SMkatchewM Rivw valley, ?915^ UNCLASSIFIED. Ont., 191(V-by W. H/cSmM ^ ^"^ ^'P'*"" "«' Clay 'lake. deporit72raSad?ifrolX'R'w'^&'"'* <=ha«cter«tic of the oU-ri^le Summ^ Report forthe^^S^^^SwTuri 9io^ ^""''^ '^•^«- k-mSn^ir-^; 15S!?«: t %^, '^<^^^^^ «de of U^e Ti«i. Summary Report for the calendar' year 1910 inued lOi i P«>viniS:|S 1 and 2. 19» ' " ""*'™ e Maritime the ^^SS'of'onLto "ITlf"" •" "»* ^««™ Township, of Quebec and ^ Guide Book No. " "^ Otuwa. 1913. Guide Book No. 4. Guide Book No. 5. Manitoulin island, 1913 and asswii^he^ ji^^^^ i^T^^^r^, ^ ^ - P-fic Guide Rnnir v#« a •S'"''^"' P"™ i. *i and 3, 1913. G«nd TvSnk pSc. VffiS^\^'2±.f"'* r,"™-,^ ^""^^ P«^fi=. Guide Book No 10 eS.™;;^ f°"*ilL\"**' 'l/'y^y^ "". Yukon Territoiy and •ateit£^„".^"Adfic"^'ri9f3"''''' ^•»'"'"'''* «"<* Summary ftewrt for the calendar y^rl9^Liued 1914 m^I^^^^^^^ No. 1. W:'l.^^^^Lnn, mineral. b?a. ml^*H°^ !?^^|S» '">« "«e «,uthem interior of British Colum- Summary Report for the calendar year 1913 iaau«l lOi * Summ«y Report for the calendar ^ ml. Zl^ mt 3. Excursions in the neighbourhood of Montreal and EKunions in southwestern Ontario, 1 Excumons m the western peninsula ^ario and I; • m J^GESm \ COCKNC ^— V UPPKH CaCTACKOU* I .|^ rata u urts"^ JS. ens'. C ea L am Ti MJ n^ Hon p. E.I iHo* P E.BuMiMM.MimBTCii: R.O.MrCoNi.eu.DtPuTv MiNitnn •lOUMICAl. SURVtV OUTLINE INAI^ I CMt*OM> scu CO.ttmwcml.art'^tftk^ ••mj To arr^ompwuf MJKTtmr hy B.Ros^ WOOD MOUNTAIN -WII (Trrutd nuT In - WILLOWBUNCH COAL AREA , SASKATCHEWAN. X o 8e«]«of MOm